Student of Life Aims to be a Student at Ole Miss
Jessica Ramirez is 21-years-old, and has lived in Mississippi for 9 years. Ramirez is originally from California, and currently lives with her mother in Oxford, Mississippi. Ramirez has three other siblings, an older brother, an older sister and a younger sister. Although Ramirez’s parents are still together, she was mainly raised by her mother. Her father is still out in California working for HD Supply Company and has not been home in almost 3 years.
Waiting in line at Starbucks is a constant pain people put themselves through in order to get a jump-start to their day. If you are a student at Ole Miss you know the struggle of waiting in that line with the feeling of a constant rush, whether it is the workers yelling left and right or the students in line rushing to get to class.
This particular Starbucks in Coulter Hall at Ole Miss is pretty far from the rest of campus, but since it is about a year old now, traffic has begun to pick up.
Coulter Hall is where most of the chemistry classes are held, and it is my go-to Starbucks this year. I usually get my iced coffee around noon to avoid the crazy traffic of people on campus, and every time I go, I see the same girl.
I have always wondered if she recognized me with how often I go, but then I think about the other 20 people behind me in line that share my addiction.
With the chaos going on at Starbucks you usually do not even look at the person taking your order because of the movement and the struggle of reciting your overly complicated drink order. Being a journalist, I often think about the workers on campus and wonder why I never actually see them in any of my classes.
Ramirez has been working part-time jobs since she was 15-years-old. She is highly knowledgeable in clothes, hunting gear, food and coffee.
“My motivation to have a job in high school was to help my mom pay for the bills, although I was young, I felt a sense of responsibility since my dad was never there,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez has been working on campus for Aramark for 3 years now, along with her brother and sister who work for different chain restaurants on campus.
“About a year after I started working for Aramark, I was able to get my brother and sister a job as well,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez enjoys working on campus because of the hours and weekends off. She is now a full-time worker at Starbucks, working from 6:30 a.m. to around 2 p.m. and only closing on Fridays.
“Since I do not have a car, it worked out perfectly because my brother takes me to work and my sister picks me up after,” Ramirez said.
Throughout these job experiences Ramirez has learned lot about life and people.
“I’ve learned the best way to deal with rude customers is just to kill them with kindness,” Ramirez said.
Smiling is even a part of an employee’s job description at Starbucks.
“She is really different,” Jessica’s mother, Rosy Ramirez, explains, “just a really good girl that works hard and is very special.”
Ramirez is Hispanic; she is half Salvadorian and half Mexican and speaks Spanish fluently. On her time off she enjoys playing with makeup and spending time with her family.
Ramirez’s mom and siblings visited their aunt in New Albany, MS, and her mom, Rosy Ramirez, fell in love with how peaceful and quite Mississippi can be.
“I have learned to be a hard worker from my mom, she has always provided for us without the help of my dad,” Ramirez said, “my mom works as a housekeeper for important people in Oxford.”
Every evening the whole family is home, except her older sister that works a second job at Ulta. At Ramirez’s home there is a full house; her mom, her three other siblings, her nephew and their dog.
“I love my baby sister Emily, no matter what kind of day I have had at work she always makes me laugh,” Ramirez said.
“My sister is my best friend,” Emily Ramirez explains, “she is loving, caring and we love to watch movies together.”
“I love spending time with my family, I just feel like they are people who you can always trust in,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez explains that she enjoys living in Oxford, “one of the biggest changes from living in California is how calm it is here.”
“At first it was so different getting used to living in a small town with everyone knowing each other,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez first started working at the Grill 18–10 then Freshii, and now has been at Starbucks for a year.
She graduated from Oxford High School and is currently working on her GD to enroll in Ole Miss. In the future she plans on being a registered nurse.
“After high school I kind of slacked off with wanting to study, but I’m actually working on getting a degree now and wanting to study,” Ramirez said.
“Jessica sometimes gets frustrated and says she does not have time, but I believe we have time do everything we need to do every single day. It is just the matter if you want to do it, then you are going to find the time,” Jessica’s mom said.
Ramirez gets her motivation to work hard from her family: “My parents and siblings have inspired me in wanting to study and finish school.”
The path she is setting out for her is much different than most of her friends from Oxford High: “About half of my friends got pregnant in high school, and right now I just want to dedicate my time to my career and enjoy life,” she says.
“Growing up I have learned to take reasonability at an early age but I love my life and I am thankful for my family because in the end they are the ones who will always be there for you,” Ramirez said.
“Taking time off from school has really motivated me to want better for myself,” Ramirez explains, “Hopefully after I am well in my career I can finally be able to enjoy life and look back on my journey there,” Ramirez said.
