CLR/LALS External Advisory Board Members' SPOTLIGHT - Edgar Ramírez

Interview Conducted by Anthony Mondragón

Over the past three years, the CLR and LALS Department have been working with Dr. Marisa Alicea to identify a small group of DePaul alumnae/i and community members who will serve our units as an External Advisory Board. This volunteer group will serve as advocates, advisors, and resources for CLR & LALS faculty and students The group will meet quarterly to remain informed about CLR & LALS activities and to establish a plan to assist in our efforts The board’s work is grounded on a common understanding of the importance of the opportunity to study and research Latin American and Latinx communities. This year, the Center for Latino Research has decided to spotlight our alumnae/i with a personal interview to shine light on what they have done since graduating DePaul University and the work they do outside of serving on out External Advisory Board.

Why did you decide to attend DePaul University?

DePaul is really interesting I always knew about it, you know. I knew folks who went there, I knew a lot of Chicago people who went there as well; it’s a familiar place. I also went to a Catholic school. A number of teachers I had in high school referenced DePaul, so it's really familiar to me I went to Community College for two years before I came to DePaul So, when I was looking at four-year institutions, DePaul University and Loyola University of Chicago were my top two choices. Since I got accepted to both, I decided I was going to go with my gut and my gut was telling me DePaul I went there and it was a great decision. I loved my experience with DePaul There were a lot of kids that resembled myself and my background, so I made the right decision.

What did you major in?

It was Political Science and Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) The good thing was that I did both of those because there were a lot of requirements in LALS that were political science oriented.

What made you decide to study Latin American and Latino Studies?

When I was growing up, I had a lot of questions about my cultural identity. I had two older brothers who went to college three to four years before I went to Community College, and they came back with books, film, poetry, you know, artworks about who we were, like the Chicano movement and Mexican culture

That really caught my eye in the sense that it was about self-definition, which is really important because you start creating your identity You're trying to find out exactly who you are and how we got here at this moment. I was really interested in exploring those questions and I'm glad I did. The great thing about DePaul’s LALS program is that it is interdisciplinary, so you have classes in politics, art, and literature You get to see from different perspectives the story of Latin America, and that had a profound effect and impact on me. I got this whole breadth of knowledge on finding out not only who I was and how I got here, but how the construction of identity for Latin Americans came to be right from the conquest to now, and even before the conquest. That’s why I chose LALS, to be able to really do that self-exploration

Has a class impacted you more than any other LALS classes?

I think a class on Political Economy of Latin America really triggered my interest because I'm an immigrant I'm from Mexico, born in the North-East part of Mexico I came here at three days old with my immigrant parents and grew up in an immigrant community. The political economy piece gave me an economic perspective on why migration occurs. That was really profound for me because it wasn’t just a political perspective – which are of course important –it was an economic analysis on why migration occurs There’s a reason why things turn out the way they do. I’m glad I took that class because whenever political discussions on immigration come up, I'm always proimmigration because, not only am I an immigrant, but now I have the tools and references for an economic argument, which is that there is a push and pull for immigration, called the invisible hand of capitalism. This is what's embedded in this country, how this country was created, and the natural flow of this country.

Has the Latin American studies program changed from the time you were still a student to the current date?

It has, the professors are different. But you know what hasn’t changed…I always tell people that if you're a student at DePaul, whether you're Latino, a LALS student, or you're first generation, and you're looking for mentorship, you're in a luck. The professors in the Latin American and Latino Studies program really take the time to guide the students, which you don't always see in other higher education institutions My sister went to Loyola, my brother went to U of C, and my other brother went to Yale, and they all agreed that the type of support I was given was unheard of. Best of all is I know that type of support is still being provided. I know the professors and other bright people that really take the time to make sure that the students in that program succeed Personally, I believe that the professors’ ability to care about their students is what is imperative to the success of that program. I had the opportunity to tell the University’s president at the time that one of the key assets at DePaul is the faculty, particularly those in LALS, who should be honored, respected, cultivated and compensated, to be completely honest

In what ways has your experience with LALS at DePaul impacted your work being the CEO & President of Chicago Commons?

I would encourage anyone to be a LALS major because, as I said, it's interdisciplinary You're in the most important time of your life, when you're framing out who you're going to be, and you're still like a blank canvas. So, what's a better way to do it than to have a good interdisciplinary education about economics, literature, and other interests that allow you to branch out and start exploring new directions But it's the self-exploration. We have this wealth of background and knowledge that can help inform your decision; that's what happened to me, my experience at DePaul really helped me figure out that I wanted to be a community organizer Upon graduating, I had developed a really good skillset to apply to community organizing, which further helped me crystallize how to build intentional relationships, to efficiently address issues and develop ideas that got me to where I am right now.

What drew you to work with Chicago Commons?

I came to Chicago Commons through a mentor who at the time was running the Erie Neighborhood House, a social services nonprofit that provides comprehensive support to immigrant and low-income families in Chicago My mentor was another Mexicano, a person I could really look up to, a leader in the city. Upon finishing my graduate degree at the University of Chicago, I had lunch with him, and he asked, “What do you want to do?” At the time I was a community organizer, which I loved, and it provided me with a really good skillset and allowed for effective learning through real life experiences I told my mentor I needed to do something different, I wanted to do organizing at a different level, so he encouraged me to seek leadership positions. The next day he sent me a job description for the Associate Executive Director position at Chicago Commons Chicago Commons is one of the oldest institutions in the city, similar to where my mentor was working, the Erie Neighborhood House, so I applied. I had coffee with the executive director at the time, my predecessor, and it was like an everyday conversation. I was surprised to hear from him the next day asking me to meet three other people and before I knew it, I became the Associate Executive Director of Chicago Commons. It's really thanks to having a great mentor that I found an employment opportunity, he pointed me in the right direction with the Chicago Commons. I knew about the Commons; I knew it was a big agency that did a lot of important work, but I had no connection to it I didn't even know they worked in Latino communities. When I got there, I found out we did work in those communities and serve a lot of people there. I started here as Associate Executive Director and now I became CEO two years later, and the journey has been interesting an enriching.

What is one piece of advice you would give to students?

Enjoy your time at DePaul. Take it all in, be curious, but also be intentional and apply your knowledge doing good work in the neighborhoods where you're from Chicago's got a lot of important Latino neighborhoods. Immerse yourself into what's going on in the city and apply it to what's happening at DePaul. Don't disconnect from where you are from because the more rooted you are, the better informed you are My last piece of advice: seek mentorship.

Mentors are a key way, especially for Latino and Black communities, to develop professional networks For both communities, the idea of social capital is still very new, so trying to learn from folks who have been through it and have networks of their own can help you navigate your future and professional questions. It has helped me tremendously I had a number of mentors who have taken the time to help me get where I’m at today.