Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Ramirez.
Hi Anthony, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
First and foremost, thank you all for having me as a part of this wonderful series.
My story begins in El Paso, Texas, where I was born and raised by my mom and grandparents. My mom was a teacher and many of my family members including my tia and grandpa were educators. When I was young, I was never really interested in a career in education. My dream was to become an animator for Pixar and tell stories using art, animation, and creativity. I ended up going to the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) for my Bachelor’s degree in Drawing and minor in Graphic Design. I then tried to get a second Bachelor’s degree in Computer Animation at New Mexico State University, but that was short lived, due to some complications with my financial aid. After a semester there, I ended up leaving that program and pursued a Master’s degree at (UTEP) in Communication Studies. There I had met various mentors of mine that I keep in touch with today including Dr. Roberto Avant-Mier, who would later become my thesis advisor and help guide me to finish my degree. During this process, Dr. Avant-Mier told me to write about something I was passionate about and that will help me in the long run of my career. That is exactly what I did, I began studying media and fandoms, specifically within comic books. After getting my degree, I wanted to find a job in El Paso and started working as a writing tutor at El Paso Community College’s Mission Del Paso campus and that is where I learned that I really did enjoy helping, teaching, and mentoring students. Throughout my life, I had constantly tried to avoid a career in education and it ended up becoming something I decided to pursue further. I realized that it was in my blood and I realized that I loved it. After working as a tutor, I was asked by my boss at that time if I would be interested in becoming an Academic Advisor for the TRIO Program at El Paso Community College’s Transmountain campus, which I accepted. During that time, I had kept in touch with Dr. Avant-Mier and he would encourage me to pursue a Doctorate’s degree, and he told me, “as professors, we see and know which students have potential for these type of programs, and you have that potential.” He also told me I should research about comic book characters who are Mexican American or from the border, and that was something that always stuck with me. That vote of confidence from Dr. Avant-Mier and my family led me to apply for multiple PhD programs across the country. I got accepted into Texas A&M University in 2017 and began my journey there meeting some incredible friends and mentors. I am grateful that I had an incredibly supportive group of mentors and friends including Dr. Srividya Ramasubramanian, Dr. Antonio La Pastina, Dr. Robin Means Coleman, Dr. Juan Alonzo, and Dr. joey lopez (he writes his name like this because he was inspired by the incredible scholar bell hooks). With their guidance, I wrote my dissertation on the very topic Dr. Avant-Mier discussed with me, comic book characters and stories that are located along the U.S.-Mexico Border. In addition to working on my research, I taught plenty of classes at Texas A&M and worked with various professors including the ones from my committee on various initiatives that would later shape who I am today as a professor. That led me to win the highest teaching award a graduate student could at Texas A&M, the Association of Former Students Distinguished Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Teaching. Right before graduating from Texas A&M, I was applying to multiple places across the U.S., and one of the universities I applied to was the University of Houston-Downtown as an Assistant Professor of Communication within the Arts and Communication Department. I began working here in Fall of 2022, and during the time I have been here I have been able to accomplish quite a bit including winning the Excellence in Teaching and Mentorship Award from the Latina/Latino Communication Studies Division and La Raza Caucus of the National Communications Association in 2022, acting in my first play with the O’Kane Theatre in 2023, and becoming the Assistant Director of the Center for Latino Studies starting 2023. Additionally, I started creating content using it as a platform to educate audiences on Latinx/e representation in media including comic books. For those interested in following, my Instagram and Tiktok is: @dranthonyrramirez.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has definitely has not been a smooth road or journey. It has been filled with plenty of ups and downs. I, like many others struggled with the pandemic. During that time, I also have had issues with my mental health including depression, and other difficult moments in life. With that being said, I am grateful that I have such a strong support system including my family, mentors, friends, and colleagues that have helped guide me and lift me up during some of those heavy moments. But yeah, it was not easy, but the highs, lows, and everything in between have all been learning lessons in life that have shaped me into who I am today. I am grateful for it all. Even the low moments, because those low moments made me appreciate the high or positive moments even more.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As mentioned earlier, I’m an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies and I’m also the Assistant Director of the Center for Latino Studies at the University of Houston-Downtown. I teach classes on a variety of subjects including communication, media studies, social media, and storytelling. My research focuses on Latino/a/e identity and U..S.-Mexico representation in media and cover topics like border identity, immigration, and culture. With both my research and teaching I really try to highlight the importance of storytelling and the power of representation, especially within the Latino/a/e community. I want people to feel seen within media and the stories they consume. I also encourage my students to not be afraid to step out of the comfort zone and try their best to create the stories or content that they want to see. I have also started to look into digital humanities (researching using technology) and began incorporating my research and teaching approaches with that in mind. I ask myself how can we use technology to tell stories and create further representation? How can I use these tools to help my students better? And through those questions, I have my students produce podcasts and create content to share their experiences, produce research, highlight events, and so much more using this pedagogical (teaching) style. As Assistant Director of the Center for Latino Studies (CLS), I help my colleague and friend, Dr. Albert DeJesus-Rivera, who is the CLS Director coordinate events, initiatives, and programming for our university. Along with this part of my profession, I help mentor our incredibly talented student assistants with creating content or in setting up things for the center. I don’t know what really sets me a part from other professors, but one thing that comes to mind about myself is that I am very student centered with my approaches. Student opinions matter to me both within my classes that I teach and with my work at the Center for Latino Studies. Along with Dr. DeJesus-Rivera, we help shape the CLS with their input, and I do the same with my courses.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Spending time with my mom and grandparents. My family is very important to me, and they all have been sources of inspiration for me in so many ways including my educational journey. I miss the days where I would go to a bookstore with my mom and buy some books or comic books as a kid. That really built a strong foundation for me to become the person, educator, and scholar that I am today.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dranthonyrramirez
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arramirez830/
- Other: http://instagram.com/uhdlatinostudies
