Jesse Ramirez

Student

“I’d like to write a history of Chicanos. It’s so important, especially in LA, for all of us to understand each other’s cultures.”

“I’m a history major and I’d love to teach,” says Jesse Ramirez who will transfer to Cal State Long Beach this fall. “Professor Stromberg has really inspired me in my studies and he’s going to write me a letter of recommendation.” Jesse says that the study of our area’s history is necessary to prevent bad feelings between different ethnic groups. “It’s important for us to realize our similarities and differences and to acknowledge how we get along and don’t get along,” he says.

Early education began for Jesse in Westwood. “Most of the kids there already knew they were going on to college. So I was lucky to be a part of that,” he says, adding, “but not that many Latinos start with that kind of situation.” Jesse is considering a career in law because, “there’s a lot of work to do in the courts for my community and my people. And I’d like to be able to offer help to the many people who have helped me along the way.”

Creative writing is a new form of expression that Jesse has found to explore his world and his own self. “I write a lot of short stories,” he says. “And there’s a Latino literature contest coming up next month. I’m getting my courage up to enter something,” says Jesse, admitting to literary jitters, “but it’s hard to reveal your thoughts and feelings to just anybody.”

A closely knit family is one of the strengths Jesse says he’s most grateful for. “I do a lot of hiking and that’s because my parents always took us camping to Yosemite and Sequoia,” says Jesse. “It’s beautiful to be out there in the woods where it’s wild and clean,” he says. “And coming from Los Angeles, I think we should all try to see it…and save it.”

Back