Jocelyn Ramirez shares her background as an English teacher with four years of experience, along with her love for the color green.
She talks about her two dogs, Sales and Tommy, and the motivational advice from her mother: “El Camarón Quesadorese.”
Jocelyn enjoys theater, painting, and traveling—having recently visited Italy and Greece.
She emphasizes her journey to becoming a debt-free teacher, highlighting her time at Santa Monica Community College and California State University, Dominguez Hills, and her dedication to managing her finances wisely.
(Summary created by otter AI)
(TRANSCRIPT)
Gabriella Olmeda: My names is Gabriella Olmeda. I’m 13 years old. Today is October, 16 and today I will interview Jocelyn Ramirez.
[Hey, can you tell me about yourself?]
Jocelyn Ramirez: My name is Ms Ramirez. I’m an English teacher at AJMS. I’ve been a teacher for about four years. My favorite color is green.
GO: What are the names of your two dogs?
JR: The names of my two dogs are Sales and Tommy.
GO: How long have you been for?
JR: I have had sales since I was in high school, so I don’t even know how many years that is, like 10 years and Tommy, I just recently got him last year after my previous dog passed away.
GO: Okay, that’s nice, I’m sorry for your loss. Who is someone you considered that impacted your life in a positive way?
JR: People that have impacted me in a positive way are my parents. They’ve always been there. They have always supported me. They’ve always tried to give me advice. I always follow this advice that my mom gives me “el Camaron quesadorese”
GO: And what does that mean?
JR: Which means, if you don’t move and you don’t actively seek out, if you don’t set goals for yourself and you just stay and don’t do anything with your life it’s gonna take you by.
GO: Do you consider that as your motivation, like that encourages you in life.
JR: Whenever life gets hard and I feel like giving up, I always think about that quote, and it’s just, it’s a motivator, because I feel like, you know you need to, even when life gets tough, you just got to keep going and don’t give up.
GO: Yeah that’s very inspiring, I like that, what is something you enjoy doing?
JR: I like to do many things. I like to play with my doggies. I like to go to the theater a lot, because my dad, he took us a lot growing up. So that’s like, something that I really cherish is going to the theater. And like going to the theater experience too, getting popcorn and stuff. I like to paint. I like to read on the side, and recently I’ve wanted to travel.
GO: What’s your favorite movie that you have watched so far in the movie theater?
JR: Well, so far this year, I think one of the movies that has stood out the most is called the long walk.
GO: And what is it about?
JR: It’s based off of a Stephen King novel. And it’s basically 50 kids from 50 different states go into this competition where it’s called the long walk, and they have to keep walking and not stop, because if they do the military and government like, shoot them, like, you know, they kill, they die. Basically.
GO: I might have to watch that.
JR: It’s really good. And the characters are really, like, they get you, and the deaths look so real, like, it’s very graphic. The deaths are very graphic. They’re young kids, like, we’re talking about, like, 18 year olds. And like, in that range, yes, in the actual book, they’re younger. They’re like, 12, like, think they’re like 15 to, like, 18 year olds, yeah.
GO: So, like, imagine even younger. I can’t even imagine movies like that. That’s what movies do you find interesting ? Like, graphic.
JR: Um, no, actually. I mean, I like good movies, like horror thrillers, horror movies. And my friend likes horror movies, and so I went to watch it with him, but it ended up being more philosophical. It ended up being more philosophical but I enjoy it . And he was like, What the heck is this?
GO: Did you like the movie ?
JR: Yeah, I really liked it. It made me cry, like, three times. It’s so good.
GO: How long was the movie?
JR: I think it’s like about an hour and 30 minutes.
GO: An hour and 30 minutes?
JR: Yeah.
GO: Oh, not bad.
JR: It’s not that bad compared to these days, which are like two hours.
GO: Right!
JR: I’m like, no, too much.
JR: But I usually like comedies, romances. Honestly, I like any genre of movies because I grew up with movies. Yeah, my least favorite would be horror, which is funny, because most o f my friends love horror movies, like, that’s your favorite genre. And I’m like, because I’m their friend, I’m the only friend in the friend group that will willingly go.
GO: Yeah.
JR: With them to go yeah horror films. But I’m just like, man, another horror film. Like, what can we watch? Like, this comedy, or why can’t I watch this romance? I’m like, I get so, like, it’s just too much. Like, you know, when it gets like, all bloody and like, ghosts, I do not. I hate demonic stuff. I hate it. Oh no, that’s why. Whenever he’s like, it’s about ghosts and like, it’s about demons, I’m like, Get out of here.
JR: I like it, yeah, but I love movies.
GO: Is there any memorable, memorable time in your life that you think of that shaped you as a person?
JR: One of the most recent things that I think has shaped me as a as a person has been traveling. So last summer, I traveled to Italy, and I traveled to Greece.
GO: And how was that?
JR: It was really fun. I got to do a lot. It was very exhausting. A lot of walking, a lot of walking. But I also got to experience a lot of, like, different cultures. And I got to see how, you know, people live, and how different it is from the United States.
GO: Is Italy the one with like, it’s all like water around, or is no cars or.
JR: Well, they like using Vespas a lot. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s like around water, when you’re thinking about Venice, the one where it’s like the sinking in the city, like the city is sinking.
GO: Yeah, I think that one.
JR: Venice is in Italy, but there’s so many, there’s so many cities in Italy. There’s Rome, there’s Florence, there’s Venice. There’s SO, SO MANY like,
GO: How long did you stay in Greece and Italy?
JR: Well, I went to Florence. I stayed there for like, about three days.
GO: And how was that? How was that experience?
JR: It was nice. Florence, I think, was pretty. I mean, it was, it was, there was a lot of tourists, tourism.
GO: You were like I got to stay away from that.
JR: Yeah, I didn’t realize how crazy tourism was until, like I was one.
JR: It was crazy because I lost my luggage, or the airplane lost our luggage, and so I was my friend and I because his luggage got lost too, my friend and I, we were like, well, I guess we got to make do with what we have.
GO: Right.
JR: And so yeah, we managed to find a 99 cent store kind of version over there in Italy. And so that kind of saves us, yeah. But yeah, we, we did. We tried to do with whatever I had in my duffel bag, which was on my carry-on in the airplane, that’s all I had. But yeah, it was, it was, honestly, it was really fun. I got to see the big statue of David Michelangelo’s David. Yeah, huge. Like, huge. And I got to see a lot of, like, a lot of different paintings that I used as a kid, like when I was your age in middle school, we have world history, and I remember seeing some of the paintings on those textbooks, and in my head, like, as a kid, I remember thinking like, oh, one of these days I’m gonna go and see this, like, in real life. And so just to like, like, have that experience happen, like.
GO: It heals your inner child.
JR: Yeah, it literally. It was like, Oh, it was literally, like, like, a full circle moment, especially when I was like, like, literally looking at the paintings, or, like, at the sculptures, or whatever. One of the ones that I saw was the Sistine Chapel in Rome, really, and that, yeah, the ceiling, and it’s just like the story of the Bible.
GO: Oh, I’ve seen pictures.
JR: Yes, that was, for sure, on my bucket list, since I was your age. Is that the crazy thing to say? Because, like, what, like, what kid is like, I want to see that. Yeah,
GO: Is that one, the one where you have to pay to turn on the lights or something.
JR: No, it’s, well, you have to pay to get in, sometimes you have to pay to get into the museum. But no, it’s like, it’s, it’s, it’s basically an entire ceiling, and it’s all painted, yeah, was painted by one of the most famous artists in all of history, and he used to be, like, on his back and like, painting like this. He didn’t want to paint it either, really, I think, yeah, I remember, if I remember correctly, I think it was forced on him. And he put like, different clues, or like Easter eggs within the actual paintings kind of to give, like, Aha, like, I hated doing this, so I’m gonna put this, like, little Easter egg, and you won’t know. And, like, over history, people have, like, seen it, and they’re like, oh, there it is.
GO: He was like I don’t want to do this.
JR: But it was so beautiful. It was really magnificent. A lot of art. Yeah, I also went to the Vatican.
GO: Do you really like art?
JR: I love art, yeah, I like looking at art. I like going to our museum. I like painting, yeah. But am I, like, a big, like, art connoisseur? Probably not. Like, I don’t know all the facts. I know some facts, yeah, some interesting ones, yeah, as an English major, you learn. You learn besides, like reading alongside those things, you also learn paintings and like philosophers. So it all kind of ties into history. English and history are basically hand in hand, yeah, but yeah and so that, you know, that helped shape me as a person, because I feel like I came full circle, and then I got to experience a lot of great things.
GO: What is your biggest accomplishment in life?
JR: My biggest accomplishment in life, besides being a teacher, becoming a teacher and finally having I wanted to be a teacher since I was in the fifth grade.
GO: Really?
JR: Yes. I knew . I knew I wanted to be a teacher back then, and I, as I grew up, I would help my peers, and they would tell me, like, I understand that you say, like, you say it better than my teachers, you teach it better.
GO: Yeah because you do.
JR: Like I’m like, you know, besides that, one of my biggest, biggest accomplishments to me is graduating college, getting a back.
GO: What college did you go to?
JR: I went to community college, Santa Monica College, which honestly is one of the best community colleges you can ever go to.
GO: And how did you like it?
JR: I loved it for two years, two of the best years of life.
GO: Did they have nice views or not?
JR: I mean, by the beach, sure. But yeah, it was great. I love the campus. It’s not that big. The campus is not big, and there are several campuses, so sometimes you have to travel to a different campus for a class, but it was so great, like everything was up to date. The technology was up to date. Some of the professors, literally that worked there would work at you at UCLA, so I was basically getting the same education that you would get at UCLA, because it’s the same, it’s the same, yeah, just for less, because Community College was basically free, and at once I was done with that, I went over to Dominguez Hills.
GO: Oh, my dad went there.
JR: Kelsey, Dominguez Hills, yeah. How did you like it there? Come honestly, I’m not gonna lie, compared to Santa Monica and the experience I had, it was like, okay. But, yeah, I don’t know. It’s just, I don’t know if the campus was okay. You know, the only reason I went there is because it was cheap, yeah, which goes into which? That’s where I also did my teacher’s program to get my certification to be a teacher. So I finished there.
GO: How many years did it take you to become like, where you are now in college.
JR: So I did two years of community college, and then I took a year off, and I worked at the theater because he loved movies. Yeah, there you go. I worked at the theater, and I actually ended up working like I was such a great worker. They moved me from concessions to being in the actual, like, theater projector rooms, really, like, I was working the projectors.
GO: Yeah, and how was that?
JR: I mean, it was pretty chill. Like, I mean, the concessions can get pretty crazy, like, especially during the rushes, but theater walking was, is, that’s what it’s called, theater walking, which is in charge of the projections your walkers are super chill, like, you just, like, literally, just you’re walking and you’re just, like, seeing the view, like, seeing the view.
GO: You could watch the movie for yourself.
JR: You could like, Well, I mean, you’re not supposed to, you’re supposed to do is you’re supposed to, like, go into every single theater room and check if the theater like, the like projectors working, yeah, the projectors, the projectors working in the movies playing, and you also like, check if, like, nothing’s like, wrong with the audience, like that. It was no, it was pretty chill compared to concession. The only downside about that was that if you wanted to watch a movie, watch it before your next shift, then you basically will spoil yourself as you’re entering.
JR: That’s how I spoil basically the entire movie for end game for myself.
GO: Like, all snap.
JR: Yeah, I took a year off to save money, and then once, I was like, Okay, I need to go back. I changed jobs to work with my schedule, and that’s when I was in. I finished. I finished my bachelor’s in another three years, and then one more year for my teacher program and Master’s program. So I have a bachelor’s and a master’s.
JR: My achievement was literally graduating without debt.
GO: Really.
JR: Yeah.
GO: I’ve heard, like many college students have, like, millions of them, that’s like, college is like, a waste of money, but you-
JR: Because I knew how to work with money, like, not work with money, like, I’m not the best at money, yeah, handling money and stuff, but I was smart with my money. Yeah, I did get financial aid. Community college was basically free. They paid for everything. It wasn’t until I got into Dominguez Hills that I had to, like, “Okay, I need to, I need to, like, lock in” and, like, actually, like, pay this. And I promise myself going into college. As a high schooler, going into college, I promise myself I’m not taking a single student loan out, unless I have to write it is my bottom line. Like, I won’t do it. I just won’t do it, even if I struggle and I’m like, working hard and I’m dying with minimum wage jobs while I’m in school. I am not taking out any student loans. No, absolutely not. And, yeah.
JR: I did it!
GO: Congratulations.
