Meet Luz Ramos, a UTRGV Unsung Hero
Text by Amanda A. Taylor-Uchoa
Luz Ramos, administrative assistant II in the UTRGV Writing and Language Studies department on the Edinburg Campus, has worked on-campus for 16 years. While she has moved around from different departments, she has spent the past six years at her current post, where she is able to help students, faculty and department chairs with any issues they may come across.
One thing she has learned about her time working at the university: No two days are alike! She strives to find solutions for each new challenge she encounters. “Every day is different, but after 16 years in higher education, you learn to roll with the challenges,” she said. “Change is inevitable.”
WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AT UTRGV?
I help our faculty and staff at the Writing & Language Studies department, in addition to working with our university partners across campuses to meet the needs of our students.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU WORKED HERE?
I’ve served UTRGV and our legacy campus UTPA for 16 years, and I’ve been at my current department for six years now.
DESCRIBE YOUR AVERAGE DAY: Every day is different, but after 16 years in higher education you learn to roll with the challenges. Shange is inevitable. On an average day, I am crossing things off my to-do list while helping faculty or department chairs with an issue. I like to call myself “Oliva Pope.” I am a fixer and solution finder. Yes, every day is different, but I am always helping and serving the best faculty at UTRGV.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF YOUR JOB?
One of my role models, Mother Teresa, said, “We can do small things with great love.” That is what I love about my job. In serving our students, faculty and staff in small ways, God uses me as a vessel to let them know that their lives matter, their issues matter, someone cares, and someone wants to help them succeed.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE MEMORY, OR STORY, ABOUT YOUR TIME HERE?
Oh, goodness, my favorite is one that my former colleagues from Student Involvement still bring up to this day. While working in Student Involvement at UTPA, we were located at the University Center on the second floor on the Edinburg Campus. Our elevator had a reputation of breaking down often, so it wasn’t out of the ordinary to see someone working on it. One day on my way back from the ladies’ room, I see one of our maintenance staff members at the elevator entrance, on the phone, telling whoever was on the receiving end that our elevator was on fire. And sure enough, there was smoke coming out of the roof of the elevator!
Remember how I said that working in higher education you learn to roll with things? You just learn to adapt, even in stressful situations. So, I calmly walked back to my office, sat at my desk, and calmly told everyone, “The elevator is on fire. The fire alarm will go off soon.” That’s when you hear everyone gasp and say “What?!” And I said, “Yes, the maintenance staff is already on the phone with someone but there is smoke coming out of the elevator.”
Needless to say, Environmental Health & Safety told me I had missed my one opportunity to pull the emergency fire alarm, which I should have done immediately! In my defense, though, the maintenance staff had everything under control.
TELL US SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU: As a child I had an irrational fear of dogs. Then I got my very own dog, Ginobili. Yes, named after Hall of Famer Manu Ginobili from the San Antonio Spurs. And I fell in love with dogs! Go, Spurs, go!
WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UTRGV COMMUNITY?
My relationship with the UTRGV community is always to serve. My very first supervisor, Rebecca Gadson, instilled in me the value of going the extra mile. It doesn’t matter what question I get, if it is from students, faculty, or staff, I try to find the answer. After all, a question is just an opportunity to grow and learn more about UTRGV and our different resources.
