“I UNDERSTAND IT’S THEIR JOB, BUT, AT LEAST IN MY
EXPERIENCE, I ALWAYS FELT THAT THEY WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND TO ENSURE
Worth the Work
After finishing his associate’s at Yakima Valley College, he enrolled at Central—and got to work. Ramos’ professors introduced him to so many interesting topics, he completed three majors—marketing, supply chain manage - ment, and economics specializing in forecast - ing—and a minor in business analytics. He was vice president of the CWU Market - ing Association and led the group on a trip to New Orleans for the American Marketing Association conference. With his friend Alvaro “Gonzo” Gonzales, he co-founded ALFPA. “I was definitely just dipping my hands in any - thing I could get involved with,” Ramos said. Despite never having heard of Boeing before college, Ramos participated in the company’s case competition and secured an internship in summer 2019. He worked part-time for Boeing throughout his senior year, moving to a full-time position after graduation. When he decided it was time to move on he landed at Microsoft where he’s now a business program manager, doing creative, strategic, data-focused projects he loves. Looking back at the work it took to get there, he knows it’s been worthwhile. “I feel like a lot of first-gens can relate to this, where it’s hard to explain to your parents what you’re doing, in the process,” Ramos said. “But once my mom saw the results, and I’m like, ‘Hey, look, I didn’t get one degree, I got three of them, and this is why I stayed up late so many nights and this is why I was always like stressed,’ she was very proud.”
Christian Ramos (’20)
keeps a piece of yellow notebook paper with a list of
THAT I HAD WHAT I NEEDED TO BE SUCCESSFUL.” CHRISTIAN RAMOS ('20)
classes written on it. He’s hung onto it since his first year at
CWU, when Dr. Terry Wil - son —Ramos’ first college mentor—helped him plan his schedule. “I have many pieces of paper that people gave me, where
they helped me,” Ramos said. “I understand it’s their job, but, at least in my experience, I always felt that they went above and beyond to ensure that I had what I needed to be successful.” Ramos was raised by a single mother in the Yakima Valley. No one in his family had gone to college, but a friend encouraged him to check out a College Success Foundation (CSF) program at their high school. “I hadn’t figured out what my next steps were, and no one had really asked me up to that point,” he said. Ramos enjoyed CSF, which took students on college tours, connected them with mentors, and helped them understand what college required. He wasn’t ready for a university, so he tiptoed into community college, unsure what he wanted to study. Finally, the instruc - tor of his career planning class suggested he try business.
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