December Alumni Spotlight: Ricardo Ramos (Alexandria City High School)

Ricardo’s messages show he is wise beyond his years. The morsels of insight he offers throughout his story, and the accepting attitude he expresses, makes his perspective inspiring. Born in El Salvador in 2002, Ricardo traveled to the United States at 12 years old with his two cousins to reunite with his mom. 

Adjusting to living in the United States was not an easy feat. “During the first year I felt like it was a bad dream that I wasn’t getting used to. Everyone spoke a different language. I didn’t have any friends, and I wasn’t able to see my grandma anymore. Everything was just different. In El Salvador, I lived on the outskirts of the city where there were a lot of land, trees, cows and chickens. I could explore anywhere I wanted to, and there wasn’t a pressure to be working all of the time because you could afford to live comfortably after working just a bit.”

Liberty’s Promise opened the doors for Ricardo to gain leadership experience and explore his post high school options. “We got to visit universities, meet people from different careers, and were taught about the opportunities to pay for our education through scholarships. I was the president of the program my junior year, which taught me leadership skills. My favorite memory was attending the annual fundraiser and getting to meet a lot of successful people.”

Ricardo decided to pursue trade school to become an electrician. “I enjoyed working with my hands and learning about electrical work, even on my own time outside of class. I would do a lot of research, ask a lot of questions, and work as much as I could. My main goal has always been to acquire skills right now since I'm young. Eventually the money is going to come, but I think the knowledge is what makes the difference.

You want to learn from the people you aspire to be one day, and I was able to learn from one of the superintendents who was close to the owner. Noticing my hard work, the superintendent offered me the out-of-town superintendent position. However, the electrical project manager came to one of my projects and he offered me a position to be the assistant project manager. Because I have learned the skills necessary to work in the field, I decided to take the office opportunity so I could broaden my skill set. I prefer working in the field, but I am committed to working hard in the office for now because I know I want to learn these skills too. 

I've always heard that you need to practice a lot to get better at things but I would say it's equally important to get feedback too. You can practice something a thousand times and get it wrong a thousand times but if you practice something ten times and get feedback, you just keep getting better with time.”

Thank you Ricardo for taking the time to share with us your experiences since immigrating to the United States. The intrinsic motivation you possess will take you far beyond your scope of imagination. We were honored to be a part of your journey, and we look forward to continuing seeing it unfold. 

Thank you to our community for your ongoing support. Donate today to help us continue empowering youth to achieve their full potential.

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