Spotlight on Scripps Staff

While developing positive self-image is essential, it’s also important to think about the world outside one­self. As Scripps students, we owe much of our great opportunity to learn and become beautiful, empowered women to the endless work of the staff at Scripps. Whether it’s the housekeeper who cleans the blackboards three times a day or the dining hall worker who cooks our food, these people, whom many of us don’t even think about, enable us to live amazing lives.

Raina Ramirez, member of the Malott Dining Hall staff, always seems to be smiling and cheerful as she swipes student meal cards each week. Just like a Scripps student, she loves art and foreign film, dances her ass off, and even has a Scripps-like fondness for squirrels. Despite this, her position as a worker sometimes keeps us from getting to know her as our equal. [in]Visible interviewed Raina so that the Scripps community could better get to know a valuable member of its community. Raina—who is just as much a part of the Scripps community as we are—is more than just a woman who swipes our meal cards.

What’s your name?

Raina Ramirez

How old are you?

24.

Where are you from?

Upland. I still live there.

How did you come to work at Malott Dining Hall?

I started working as a temp here—in the of­fices. Before that, I temped at Pomona and CMC in secretary and office jobs. I wanted to go back to school, but I wanted to take classes during the week, so that’s when I found out about this job. I go to Junior College right now. I plan to get my GEs out of the way and then transfer. I don’t know where yet.

When you transfer, what are you thinking of making your focus?

For a lot of years I was thinking of Women’s Studies, but I’m not sure what I will do with that. So, now I’m thinking either that [Women’s Stud­ies] or Cultural Anthropology. I just love learning about other people’s cultures, their languages, their religions. If you have a better understand­ing of people’s cultures, you can get along with them better and not judge them as much.

What do you do for fun?

I love independent films; I love foreign lan­guage movies. (I don’t speak any other languag­es.) My dad is hard of hearing, so I grew up with captions. I make post cards with these watercol­or pencils. You color just like [usual] and brush water over them. I send them to friends and fam­ily. I also love to crochet. I’ll start making a lot of hats and scarves soon, and you can buy one if you like—I sell them for about 5 dollars. I love fairies! I have a pixie tattoo—it’s me, with wings attached. My friend drew it. It didn’t hurt, but I laughed a whole lot. I also model for artists. But you don’t get health insurance, so that’s why I work here. I’m not allowed to model for Scripps, but I model for a 5C group, CMC, Pomona, Mount Sac, Cal Poly Pomona, APU, the Daw Center, and another artist during the week. I like it a lot. I’m not a good artist but I love being surrounded by art.

What’s your family like?

Some of them can be a little crazy—big, loud, lots of fun. I went to Mexico once for a fam­ily member’s quinceañera. I found people on Facebook I didn’t even know I was related to. My family’s big. I have a sister. I’ll take pictures of squirrels when eating and send [them] to my sister. Once I was eating on a break from model­ing, [and a] squirrel came close and closer, and I threw my sandwich and ran. My sister and I love Eddie Izzard. He does this bit about squirrels. I’ve seen him live. He’s really funny live. He wasn’t dressed up [in drag] as he usually is.

Do you see celebrities often?

I’ve met several people in LA. I had a friend who worked for some type of zine—he was able to get us into parties, and we’d get introduced to people. I ran into Flava Flav, and he smelled really bad. I couldn’t help bumping into him be­cause he was intoxicated and hugging everybody. Once I went to a concert, and after the main event, Sir-Mix-A-Lot came on stage and started singing “Baby Got Back,” and I went up on stage to dance with a bunch of other girls and got a picture with him. If you go out to a lot of places you’re bound to run into somebody.

Do you go into Los Angeles often?

I don’t go in as often as I used to. I go in every couple of months. I love going to Chinatown—I’m big on tea. I buy it [from] a store in China­town. It’s like a Chinese version of Costco and they always have tea samples and looseleaf teas in bulk. My favorites are the ones that are flow­ers that open out. I also love going to LA to get tacos. I love eating tacos. And the Fairfax mar­ket, that’s always fun. And Saturday movies on the lawn in Hollywood where you bring your own picnic basket.…

If you could be any superhero or have any superpower who/what would it be?

I’d be Batman. I liked Batman when I was lit­tle. That’d be fun. I love comics. I loved reading Calvin and Hobbes when I was little and Family Circle, Charlie Brown, and Pearls Before Swine.

If you could fill a swimming pool with any­thing, what would you fill it with?

Not Jell-O! I don’t like Jell-O. Probably a bunch of miniature sized everything. I always get stuck in Target in the travel section. “I want this. I know I don’t need it, but look how little it is!”