While she has helped create change at multiple institutions, Czarina Ramsay '02 is proudest of what she accomplished at her alma mater.

Czarina Ramsay and her triplet siblings were 5 when their father moved the family to Anchorage, Alaska, for an assignment as a sergeant in the U.S. Army. As Panamanian immigrants with West Indian roots, their language and culture contrasted dramatically with the predominantly white community they settled into.

Ramsay’s school didn’t know how to help her transition into her new environment, so her mother decided to intervene and advocate on her daughter’s behalf. Those early experiences shaped her perspective about education and what’s needed to help people from marginalized and underrepresented communities succeed in school. “My life started with this need to be seen, heard, and advocated for. Had my mom not done that for me at an early age, who knows where I would be.”