Student Highlight: Garnet and Gold Scholar Maicie Ramirez
Maicie Ramirez was looking for ways to push herself and to make the most of her time at FSU when she arrived for her undergraduate degree in social work. The Garnet and Gold Scholars program aligned with her interest within their engagement areas of international, internship, leadership, research and service. During her time in the program, she completed three areas.
Service: Maicie completed 200 hours of community service as a volunteer with Capital City Youth Services (CCYS) through the Community Ambassador Program run by the FSU Center for Leadership and Social Change. “I became involved in the Community Ambassadors Program because I wanted to have exposure to a local nonprofit and take on a more involved service role,” Maicie said about her time as a volunteer. “The best part of that experience was meeting like-minded peers and creating a long-lasting relationship with CCYS. She helped primarily with volunteers and working on fundraising and events. She also spent her last spring break on a service project with a homeless shelter in Atlanta, Georgia working with the shelter’s residents and serving food in the local neighborhood.
Internship: Through her volunteer work with Capital City Youth Services, Maicie landed an ideal field placement with them during her last year in the BSW program. “As the Outreach and Development Intern, I helped with grants, fundraising, and events,” Maicie explained. “I also attended meetings and training to strengthen CCYS’s relationship with other agencies and programs in the area. It was a good fit for my interests as it was the sort of experiences in administrative social work I am interested in pursuing.”
Leadership: She also completed a Leadership for Social Justice course outside of her social work curriculum, learning about social issues and how to use or locate resources to bring people together for a cause. One interesting experience from this course was her participation in a project to address a local social issue that she and classmates worked on to incentivize local businesses and nightlife spots more accessible for those with different abilities.
Maicie highly recommends incoming and current students to check out the FSU Center for Leadership and Social Change for a vast range of programs and projects to participate in on and off campus. She made it a personal goal to get out of her comfort zone and to try new things, and succeeded by exploring what FSU had to offer. “If you make it a priority and promise yourself it will be your accomplishment, it will get done,” she emphasized. “I wanted to do administrative social work, so Garnet and Gold Scholars were helpful. Being recognized by them means I am actively engaged in my community, which also benefits from my skills as a community member and leader.
She will continue her academic career at FSU this spring to pursue her MSW in Social Leadership with interest in nonprofit management and youth outreach in low-income areas. “I want to become an administrator for an organization such as City Year, focusing on education equity for low-income communities. I want to work for greater access to quality education.”