E ntering her junior year of high school, Jessica Ramirez '98 had never been asked where she wanted to go to college, or if she was even thinking about applying.

Ramirez, who was born in Puerto Rico and moved to New Jersey at age 8, said her parents never attended college and were blue-collar employees who worked day and night. They were usually exhausted by the time they came home, Ramirez said, which made it difficult to find time for conversations about her long-term educational goals.  

So, when Ramirez was asked, “Do you want to attend college?” by a close friend’s older sister attending Spellman College during summer break, she was like a deer in headlights. She sheepishly said, “I don’t think I’m going to go,” to a room full of awkward silence.   

A bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Stockton University in 1998 and a Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University in 2001 later, Ramirez is now an assemblywoman for New Jersey’s 32nd legislative district in Jersey City and Hoboken, a practicing lawyer for D’Arcy Johnson Day and a staunch advocate for victims of sexually based crimes and human trafficking.  

The journey to forging her own path as a first-generation student was one that Ramirez had to take alone, but she had support from her community both inside and outside of Stockton.  

“I love Stockton and it really does hold a special place in my heart,” Ramirez said. “I got to live at home, get a great education and go to a great law school. I was definitely prepared, and it's what I needed at that time in my life. I made such good friends, and the professors really just cared for all of us – I don't know if anybody would have taken so much time out to talk to me and to make sure I went to law school.”   

Her parents each took on another job to support Ramirez’s educational goals. She also worked at various casinos in Atlantic City and loaded up her course schedule to make sure she earned her degree within four years.  

Those courses weren’t just core classes for her major. Ramirez was glad to learn that Stockton still requires At-Some-Distance courses, classes outside of one’s major meant to provide students with a more comprehensive and interdisciplinary education.

“It really was so interesting to me because I would have never majored in or looked at other classes that made me more of a well-rounded person. They just really forced us to come out of our comfort zones – I took a lot of courses on the Holocaust and the arts that I would have never taken if I just stayed in my major,” Ramirez said. “When you're doing it, you're like, ‘Why do I have to do these courses?’ But then once you're out in the world, you’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, I remember learning about this.’”  

Junior year at Stockton proved to be yet another transformative year for Ramirez — that was the year she met the late Alan R. Arcuri, the professor and academic advisor who inspired her to go to law school.

“Up until that point, I had never met a lawyer in my life. Then, I had a professor who was a lawyer and a professor who wasn’t a practicing lawyer but my academic advisor. He was like, ‘Everybody here is going to law school,’ and that was when I knew I was going to go to law school,” Ramirez said. “The professors were so interesting with how they thought about the world and how they thought about cases. It was all intriguing to me and dared me to be like, ‘All right, I'm going take the LSAT.’”  

Between the constant motivation from her professors and joining the first cohort of Stockton students attending the Washington Center’s D.C. internship program under the late Charles “Chick” Yeager, Ramirez felt prepared to accomplish her new dream of becoming a lawyer. 

Ramirez describes law school as one of the hardest yet fulfilling things she’s ever completed. In addition to an academically rigorous curriculum, she had to battle the imposter syndrome that arises in some first-generation students even after completing their undergraduate degree.  

However, she got through it with programs like Seton Hall’s Legal Education Opportunity (LEO) program — a graduate school equivalent to EOF — and by believing in herself, as her family, friends and professors did.  

“In our LEO program, we were very close. I love the LEO program; I scream it loud and proud, just like I love being EOF. All of those kinds of programs are near and dear to my heart because I did need the help and that extra push,” Ramirez said. “Psychologically, (law school) was really tough, especially for students who don't come from money or academia, but then I graduated and passed the bar on the first try, and now I’ve been practicing for over 20 years.”  

So, what’s next for Assemblywoman Ramirez?  

Currently, she is exploring how she can legally support victims of human trafficking, including through continued conversations with the Attorney General and collecting data on victims and perpetrators in the hospitality industry. She looks forward to continuing to travel and teach in various seminars and is thinking of writing a book someday.  

She’s also now on the other side of the all-important college question she was asked during that long-ago summer break. Unlike herself, however, Ramirez’s son already had a list of colleges and universities that he was interested in touring and applying for. He enrolled in an out-of-state college and will begin his first year this fall, making his mother prouder than he could probably imagine.  

Ramirez’s advice to students in her shoes: Do everything, even if you’re scared.  

“I feel like I was scared of everything because I didn't know anything. Going back to how I grew up, I mean, my parents really never checked my homework because they couldn't and didn't understand English, so I had to be independent and just figure it out when it came to school and what I wanted to do. So, everything was pretty scary to me,” Ramirez said.  

“So, my advice to students is to really believe in yourself because no one is going to do it for you. Count on yourself, and don’t be scared, or be scared, but do it in spite of being scared. Do it in spite of feeling fearful.”