Hilda Ramirez was born in San José de las Matas, Dominican Republic in 1964. She is one of six children who were raised by their grandparents while the parents established themselves in the United States. She moved to New York City when she was 10 years old. In her interview with the Latino History Project, she reflects on her upbringing and the differences between life in the U.S. and in the D.R. As an immigrant child in New York, she struggled with the greater ethnic diversity, the language and culture barrier, and the cold winters. Ramirez pursued higher education in Boston, Massachusetts. She received a B.S at Lesley University in Business Management and an M.A. at Harvard University in Education & Administration. She then moved to Worcester, MA, where she was struck by the lack of connection and professional networking among Latinos. In response, she co-founded the Latino History Project in 2008 with the intention of educating the general public about the Latino community--where they come from, their reasons for migrating, their contributions to the City--and laying the groundwork for developing educational materials on Latino experiences for the Worcester Public Schools. She currently works at Worcester State University as the Executive Director of the Latino Education Institute. Ramirez was the first and, to date, the only, member of the Latino community ever to be elected to the Worcester School Committee, in 2013. (Narrative profile by Samantha Vargas, Holy Cross ´22)

Latino History Project interview with Hilda Ramirez, 13 June 2016
Interviewer, Xiomara Tenorio. Transcription, Stephanie McArdle, Manuel Alvarez, Carlos Cano, Brigitte Hayes

“Yo creo que yo sé vivir en las dos culturas. No vivo en una ni en la otra sino en las dos. Tengo una nueva identidad como latinoamericana. Eso no…. Tú no dejas tu cultura ni tú aceptas la otra. Tú aprendes a vivir en las dos culturas”

“Las cosas que sí observé desde que empecé a ver la ciudad como profesional -porque estaba trabajando aquí- faltaban muchas cosas como, por ejemplo, networks para latinos no habían; entonces, yo empecé a conectarme con otros latinos y empezamos a crear un network para latinos. Siempre cada vez que veía [la falta], yo digo, porque [los latinos] no están más unidos, organizados como comunidad, integrados a la institución de esta ciudad. [--] He escogido eso como mi propio reto”

“Me gustaría ver muchos estudiantes caminando en la ciudad, más comercio, más arte pública, muchas más cosas que una ciudad como Nueva York o Boston tiene, que no tenemos aquí”