Empathy and humility in action
For Jacob Ramirez ’25, coming to Wabash was a leap out of his comfort zone.
“I barely left my state growing up,” said the Alamo, Texas native. “Hearing about this all-male college in Indiana in a city I had never heard of didn’t seem very appealing.”
However, when he arrived, Ramirez realized something was different about Wabash. Despite visiting on a chilly Indiana day, he remembered that everyone he passed said hello, smiled or gave a welcoming wave. Coming to Wabash, Ramirez found a support network that was nowhere near as cold as Indiana weather.
Still, being more than 800 miles away from Alamo, homesickness was a major challenge for Ramirez.
“I wasn’t fully bought in, but after a while, I said, ‘Well, you’re gonna learn the most when you lean into adversity,’” said Ramirez. “And that’s exactly what I did. I stood by those values that Wabash teaches, I built connections, lifelong friends, both in my fraternity and outside.”
Four years later, Ramirez has ingrained himself in Wabash’s community as very few others have. His classmates know him as a
biology major and history minor, as well as a member of the Sphinx Club, La Alianza’s former president, and a brother of Tau Kappa Epsilon.
“There’s just something about me that makes me always want to get to know the different people here at Wabash,” said Ramirez. “My mom told me growing up to always put yourself in someone else’s shoes.”
Ramirez reminisced about when he joined La Alianza, which used to meet in the Fiji basement with less than 20 members.
“Now, as a senior, we barely fit in the International House,” he laughed. “To see that exponential growth is just amazing.”
While President of La Alianza, Ramirez was surprised at the level of student involvement in selecting Dr. Julio Enriquez-Ornelas as the Director of Latino Partnerships.
“I didn’t anticipate myself to be leading such an organization, let alone being part of a hiring process,” said Ramirez.
A less visible aspect of Ramirez’s Wabash experience are the different communities he served. Traveling domestically from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin, Ramirez has worked at St. Clare Health Mission and Gundersen Health Systems.
THE CROWN JEWEL of his Wabash service is working with the Global Health Initiative (GHI). Ramirez was brought to the GHI by his fraternity brother and fellow Texan, Francisco Jimenez ’24, excited to walk in the same shoes as one of his mentors.
Working with Corazones Excepcionales (“Exceptional Hearts”) Ramirez taught speaking, reading and life skills to children with Down Syndrome.
“Working with these kids, I thought about my sister,”said Ramirez. “Seeing smiles on their faces only made me want to give back more.”
“He is always thinking of ways to help others. In the lab, he is always ready to pitch in and take initiative,” said Heidi Walsh, one of Ramirez’s mentors in the biology department. “It has been wonderful to see Jacob’s confidence as a student grow over the past four years.”
After graduation, Ramirez intends to enroll in physical therapy school, hoping to use the skills he grew at Wabash to continue to serve others. Empathy and humility pervade everything Ramirez does, something he hopes to bring into his future career in physical therapy.
“I want to see patients go home with a smile,” said Ramirez. “I want to be the person for them.”
Ramirez doesn’t want his Wabash career to end after four-years, instead, he strives to be a lifelong learner and champion.
“I’ve always told myself that learning never stops,” said Ramirez. “Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable around others. Supporting others and receiving support back is how you grow.”