Each week, the Record (using a script in R) randomly selects a student at the College for our One in Two Thousand feature, excluding current Record board members. This week, Ashley Ramirez ’26 discussed Winter Study, her involvement with Ritmo, and advice to her first-year self. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Aiden Clarke (AC): Let’s start with what you’re up to right now. I know you’re not on campus at the moment, and you’re doing a travel Winter Study. Where are you?
Ashley Ramirez (AR): I’m in Lima, Peru, right now doing an independent study with Grace [Rivera ’26]. We’re doing a comparative analysis on how different countries value the arts and dancing.
AC: What made you want to pick that research topic?
AR: I’ve been dancing since I was really young, and I think that as I’m about to graduate college, it’s really interesting how people are talking about my future as if I’m not the one that’s going to live it. I think a lot of people say that I’m just not doing anything important until I choose to do a full-time career. I think America’s the only place that’s really that way, and so I wanted to explore that idea in a different country.
AC: Can you tell me more about what you’ve been doing over there?
AR: I’m learning different traditional Peruvian dances, like marinera norteña and marinera limeña. I’ve gotten to interview different actors and talk to students, professors, and people who still compete, even while having full-fledged careers or being students.
AC: I know dancing isn’t new to you, and at the College you’re a member of Ritmo. When did this passion for dance start?
AR: Everybody in my family dances. When I was super young and a lot more timid and introverted than I am now, my family would tell me to dance with them, so I grew up dancing all my life. I used to dance for my church dance team, and when I came to college, I really wanted to continue that. Ritmo reminded me of home, and it reminded me of my family.
AC: What do you like most about Ritmo?
AR: I’m chair of performance, which means that it’s my responsibility to take care of the show that we have at the end of every semester and organize the different practice times and schedule. The thing I love most about Ritmo is that it’s an open and creative space. I’ve met some of my best friends on that team, and it’s really just a chance for me to feel at home at a school that’s really different from my surroundings growing up. Williams was a really scary place to me when I first got on campus, and Ritmo has been one of my safe spaces.
AC: Going to Ritmo shows, it’s clear that honoring the Afro-Latinx history behind each dance is really foundational to the group. Why is it important to to honor the history in that space?
AR: I think it’s really hard sometimes, because there’s anti-Blackness everywhere. I think in the Hispanic and Latino communities, especially, it can be really, really prevalent, especially colorism. The Black communities in almost every single Hispanic or Spanish-speaking country are so prevalent, and you wouldn’t have the cultures that exist today without them. And I think that with this history having been erased and overlooked for so long, the least we can do when we’re showcasing these dances is to make sure that these communities are at the front and center, especially at a primarily white institution. Being an Afro-Latina, it’s been really healing for me.
AC: Is there anything else on campus that you are involved in?
AR: I’ve been co-president of Sisterhood since I was a sophomore. It’s a group for Black women and femme-presenting people on campus. I joined because I wanted a space where I felt heard and understood, and I wanted to make sure that all of the Black women and femme-presenting people on campus had a space where they felt heard and understood and protected against a lot of things that other people don’t experience when going through the campus and the world as a double minority.
AC: What is something you’re proud of after being co-president of Sisterhood these past couple of years?
AR: I think that the connections and the friendships that we make are probably one of the best things that I’ve had the chance to help foster. I’m only a small part of this really big group that is so amazing and helps people feel safe on campus. That’s probably one of the things that I’m going to take away once I graduate.
AC: The first time we met was during orientation, and I know you’re involved in Williams Firsts. What motivated you to become a part of that?
AR: I think it was a natural extension of what I do for my family and friends back home. I’m a first-generation college student. My mom moved here from the Dominican Republic, and she didn’t get the chance to finish college before having me. I don’t take that lightly. My family is one of the primary reasons why I was able to go to a school like Williams. Every time I go back home, I try to give them a little bit of the knowledge that I’ve gained.
I’ve always had younger cousins and relatives and friends of my mom who have children that are younger than me, whom I’ve always wanted to help, tutor, and nurture. I see myself in a lot of the younger kids. I remember feeling a lot of doubt about being at Williams and even deciding to leave my family and city. I’m really happy that I did, and if I could help somebody else feel comfortable, that’s my main goal.
AC: What motivates you to help create spaces where people feel welcome and comfortable?
AR: I grew up with a lot of older people in my family. Growing up with old people, I think that you learn to slow down just because you have to sit and listen to them and move at their pace. I saw just how challenging New York City was for my great-grandmother, as somebody who didn’t speak English, as somebody who couldn’t walk up and down a couple of blocks. I’ve always wanted to be a lawyer and defend people and make sure that people get the best out of life. I think that’s only really further developed at the College.
AC: Speaking of being a lawyer, I stalked your LinkedIn and saw you interned for the Sonia and Celina Sotomayor Judicial Internship Program. How was that experience?
AR: That internship was such an amazing experience. I worked in the Bronx Housing Court, and I was placed with the Honorable Krzysztof Lach, the judge I worked under. I learned so much about the way that the court works, the way that judges handle themselves, and the way that people move in a system that they don’t always understand. The second part of the program was studying for the LSAT, and they got us a boot camp free of charge. We had a bunch of different workshops, and I was able to meet with nonprofit organizers and big law attorneys. I also had the chance to meet Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and I was able to have a conversation with her, which was super dope. Something that she told me that will always stick with me is to chase the passions, because the money will come.
AC: This is the beginning of your last semester at the College. How do you feel, and what advice would you give to first-year Ashley?
AR: I don’t know if I can wrap my head around it yet. Growing up, college was the end goal for me. I never really thought about what would happen after, which sounds really silly. I’m really proud of myself, and I’m really happy, and I’ve met such amazing people, from the seniors that I met my freshman year to the freshmen that I’m meeting now as a senior. I think that Williams has a lot of faults, but one thing I can’t fault it for is the people that they admit. They’ve truly made my experience here so much better. I would tell freshman Ashley to just enjoy it more and stress less. Have fun and don’t care about what you think people are thinking about you.
