Cecilia Ramirez Montes grew up in Los Romeros, a small and rural community in Hidalgo, Mexico, with her family. After training at a hospital, she worked in her community from 15 years of age until she was 24 years old. She was very active in her youth. She studied to be an executive assistant. She worked in her town’s clinic as a medical assistant, and also worked on nutrition and family planning programs. She also took census, built latrines and family farms, and, in general, fought against poverty in Los Romeros. She transferred her knowledge from Mexico to Beloit. 

Cecilia got married 24 years before coming to the United States, which was an enormous lifestyle change since she had left everything in Mexico to start a new life. Her husband, who was already working in the United States, told her they would only stay in the United States for six months, which turned to 29 years. Six months after arriving in the United States, Cecilia became pregnant with her son. She later had two daughters. Cecilia worked in a factory for two years, before deciding to stay at home with her children. This was a difficult period since money was not always enough. 

At first, living in Beloit was horrible for Cecilia because she missed her family, she did not know anyone, and she had to adapt to the weather. One day, she decided to take English classes at Even Start. She studied English for five years, usually at night. She received her GED and her driver’s license. She then began to volunteer as an interpreter at Beloit Clinic. She made friends at her church and Even Start. At church, she began to learn about the necessities of the Latino community in Beloit. Having integrated into Beloit’s environment, she understood how to get them the help they needed. Cecilia says, “Todos nos levantamos juntos”, we lift each other up. 

She formed part of the Latino Services Provider Coalition, a non-profit organization created by people in the community who work with Latinos and collaborate with Blackhawk Technical College, Satellite Literacy Council, YWCA and others, with the purpose of supporting the Latino community. At first, the organization hired a bilingual coordinator who later left the position because she did not know the community and the Latino culture. Cecilia received a call about the position, which she obtained and was the coordinator for 14 years. In this position, she helped Latinos with a great variety of issues, such as how to pay their bills, seeking donations, accessing medical attention, and even resolving kidnappings. Due to the pandemic, the organization fell apart. 

Cecilia was left unemployed and not able to practice her primary passion - helping others. She wanted to continue helping but had no funds. She then read a publication that the Mexican Consulate was offering classes teaching people how to start their own business. When she finished this free training, she created Ramirez Esperanza Latina, LLC. and has one year with her organization. Her main difficulty is charging people for her services because she does not want to. Her dream is to obtain a sponsor to help Latinos without charging them for services. 

As a Latina, her biggest challenge was learning English and then obtaining a job. When someone arrives in the United States, many times they start from zero. Her advice for the readers who want to help others is to volunteer and place themselves in others’ shoes, and also get to know others and what they need before judging or jumping to conclusions. She also suggests for Latinos to study and be prepared. 

 

Interview by Marcus Studinski, Beloit College student.