Born and raised in San Diego, Raynier Ramos saw redwood trees for the first time when he arrived at UC Santa Cruz. After four years, the honors student with a double major in legal studies and history of art and visual culture (HAVC) is back in San Diego now where he plans to attend law school in the fall.
Ramos noted the redwoods when he described UCSC’s uniqueness.
“The environment is completely different from any other UC campus,” he said. “The college system has the intimacy of different communities rather than one giant campus.”
His RA at College Nine was vice president of Student Life and encouraged the floor to get involved in civic engagement.
“That’s where it really began,” Ramos said.
And get involved, he did. He joined the college senate, was elected president his second year, served as a senator for two years after that, and ran for president of the campuswide Student Union Assembly but was ultimately unsuccessful. He was also a member of Phi Alpha Delta, the pre-law fraternity.
That’s not all. He also found time to be an HAVC mentor and student advisory board member for the HAVC department chair, and he took part in the UC Center Sacramento Program.
Law school was on his mind from the start, but there was also this love of art that stemmed from an AP history class in high school.
“I really fell in love with the course, learning to analyze art rather than just seeing a painting on a wall,” Ramos said.
Ramos notes the different writing styles of the two majors.
“For one thing, it definitely improved my writing skills. Art history allows me to be more creative, allows me to go beyond.
“My four years at UCSC have been some of the most valuable years of my life,” Ramos said, “not just academically—I learned a lot from my peers and who I am as a person, as well. It allowed me to evolve as a person.”
He will be studying law at the University of San Diego this fall.
“Hopefully," he said, "in person.”
