First-Gen to the State House
By Loukaia Taylor '22
![Jessica Ramirez Jessica Ramirez speaking](/stocktonnow/summer2024/images/ramirez-featured.jpg)
By Loukaia Taylor '22
E ntering her junior year of high school, Jessica Ramirez '98 had never been asked where she wanted to go to college, or if she was even thinking about applying.
Ramirez, who was born in Puerto Rico and moved to New Jersey at age 8, said her parents never attended college and were blue-collar employees who worked day and night. They were usually exhausted by the time they came home, Ramirez said, which made it difficult to find time for conversations about her long-term educational goals.
So, when Ramirez was asked, 鈥淒o you want to attend college?鈥 by a close friend鈥檚 older sister attending Spellman College during summer break, she was like a deer in headlights. She sheepishly said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檓 going to go,鈥 to a room full of awkward silence.
A bachelor鈥檚 degree in Political Science from 老司机福利社 in 1998 and a Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University in 2001 later, Ramirez is now an assemblywoman for New Jersey鈥檚 32nd legislative district in Jersey City and Hoboken, a practicing lawyer for D鈥橝rcy Johnson Day and a staunch advocate for victims of sexually based crimes and human trafficking.
The journey to forging her own path as a first-generation student was one that Ramirez had to take alone, but she had support from her community both inside and outside of 老司机福利社.
鈥淚 love 老司机福利社 and it really does hold a special place in my heart,鈥 Ramirez said. 鈥淚 got to live at home, get a great education and go to a great law school. I was definitely prepared, and it's what I needed at that time in my life. I made such good friends, and the professors really just cared for all of us 鈥 I don't know if anybody would have taken so much time out to talk to me and to make sure I went to law school.鈥
Her parents each took on another job to support Ramirez鈥檚 educational goals. She also worked at various casinos in Atlantic City and loaded up her course schedule to make sure she earned her degree within four years.
Those courses weren鈥檛 just core classes for her major. Ramirez was glad to learn that 老司机福利社 still requires At-Some-Distance courses, classes outside of one鈥檚 major meant to provide students with a more comprehensive and interdisciplinary education.
鈥淚t really was so interesting to me because I would have never majored in or looked at other classes that made me more of a well-rounded person. They just really forced us to come out of our comfort zones 鈥 I took a lot of courses on the Holocaust and the arts that I would have never taken if I just stayed in my major,鈥 Ramirez said. 鈥淲hen you're doing it, you're like, 鈥榃hy do I have to do these courses?鈥 But then once you're out in the world, you鈥檙e like, 鈥極h, yeah, I remember learning about this.鈥欌
Junior year at 老司机福利社 proved to be yet another transformative year for Ramirez 鈥 that was the year she met the late Alan R. Arcuri, the professor and academic advisor who inspired her to go to law school.
鈥淯p until that point, I had never met a lawyer in my life. Then, I had a professor who was a lawyer and a professor who wasn鈥檛 a practicing lawyer but my academic advisor. He was like, 鈥楨verybody here is going to law school,鈥 and that was when I knew I was going to go to law school,鈥 Ramirez said. 鈥淭he professors were so interesting with how they thought about the world and how they thought about cases. It was all intriguing to me and dared me to be like, 鈥楢ll right, I'm going take the LSAT.鈥欌
Between the constant motivation from her professors and joining the first cohort of 老司机福利社 students attending the Washington Center鈥檚 D.C. internship program under the late Charles 鈥淐hick鈥 Yeager, Ramirez felt prepared to accomplish her new dream of becoming a lawyer.
Ramirez describes law school as one of the hardest yet fulfilling things she鈥檚 ever completed. In addition to an academically rigorous curriculum, she had to battle the imposter syndrome that arises in some first-generation students even after completing their undergraduate degree.
I made such good friends, and the professors really just cared for all of us 鈥 I don't know if anybody would have taken so much time out to talk to me and to make sure I went to law school.鈥Jessica Ramirez '98
However, she got through it with programs like Seton Hall鈥檚 Legal Education Opportunity (LEO) program 鈥 a graduate school equivalent to EOF 鈥 and by believing in herself, as her family, friends and professors did.
鈥淚n our LEO program, we were very close. I love the LEO program; I scream it loud and proud, just like I love being EOF. All of those kinds of programs are near and dear to my heart because I did need the help and that extra push,鈥 Ramirez said. 鈥淧sychologically, (law school) was really tough, especially for students who don't come from money or academia, but then I graduated and passed the bar on the first try, and now I鈥檝e been practicing for over 20 years.鈥
So, what鈥檚 next for Assemblywoman Ramirez?
Currently, she is exploring how she can legally support victims of human trafficking, including through continued conversations with the Attorney General and collecting data on victims and perpetrators in the hospitality industry. She looks forward to continuing to travel and teach in various seminars and is thinking of writing a book someday.
She鈥檚 also now on the other side of the all-important college question she was asked during that long-ago summer break. Unlike herself, however, Ramirez鈥檚 son already had a list of colleges and universities that he was interested in touring and applying for. He enrolled in an out-of-state college and will begin his first year this fall, making his mother prouder than he could probably imagine.
Ramirez鈥檚 advice to students in her shoes: Do everything, even if you鈥檙e scared.
鈥淚 feel like I was scared of everything because I didn't know anything. Going back to how I grew up, I mean, my parents really never checked my homework because they couldn't and didn't understand English, so I had to be independent and just figure it out when it came to school and what I wanted to do. So, everything was pretty scary to me,鈥 Ramirez said.
鈥淪o, my advice to students is to really believe in yourself because no one is going to do it for you. Count on yourself, and don鈥檛 be scared, or be scared, but do it in spite of being scared. Do it in spite of feeling fearful.鈥
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