Esperanza Ramirez: Keeping the Hurley Administration Building bright and shiny

	One of Esperanza Ramirez's favorite activities is to get dressed up and go dancing with her husband, Hugo.

More than 20 years ago, Esperanza Ramirez, UNT custodian, and her husband, Hugo, arrived in Denton with their four children and another on the way. Everything they owned was crammed into a small red car.

After emigrating from Mexico a year earlier, they still had difficulty finding work, and Denton seemed promising. Hugo found various jobs to support his family, from construction work to food service. He finally settled at a company that manufactured handbags, and for the next 10 years they were able to afford a small apartment and eventually a house in which to raise their family.

The Ramirezes have recounted many anecdotes to their five children, who are now adults. These days they tell their stories of strength in adversity to their 10 grandchildren to encourage them to have a greater appreciation for life and their heritage.

Ramirez and her husband are both from Reynosa, a bustling border town in Mexico where resources are few for many of its residents. Ramirez was the fourth of 11 children and spent her childhood years helping to support the family by picking tomatoes, cotton, hot peppers and corn. Often, it wasn't enough, and they had to skip a few meals until her father brought home more money.

"We knew how it felt to be hungry," she says. "Hugo would get so angry when our kids would throw away even half of a sandwich."

Ramirez, who completed school through the fourth grade, says coming to the United States meant improved opportunities for the children. She says she wanted them to receive a better education than she had.

And her children are doing just that — two are seeking degrees in higher education. Ramirez's youngest daughter is pursuing a degree in accounting at Texas Woman's University, and her son is planning to complete at UNT a degree that he started in California.

"We've started at the bottom and worked our way up," Ramirez says. "Our success is the result of very hard work."

The work has definitely paid off, she says. Her husband runs his own landscaping business and is looking to sell it before opening a Mexican restaurant in Denton.

Ramirez, who has cleaned the Hurley Administration Building for the last 13 years, says working at UNT has given her an outlet when things at home are hectic.

"UNT is my second home," she says. "I've met so many nice people over the years."

The times are certainly a stark contrast from earlier years when she was just learning English and thought the phrase "sugar free" on a soda bottle meant she would get free sugar after purchasing the beverage.

Today, she can laugh at that misunderstanding — she knows that she and her family have come a long way since then.

BY ELIZABETH DEL TORO kreese@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue:

• UNT names interim dean of Toulouse School of Graduate Studies
• Vice president for development to retire from full-time duties
• State retiree insurance coverage qualifications to change Sept. 1
• Faculty, staff to enjoy exclusive Student Recreation Center preview Aug. 13-15
• Science and Math Teacher Academy receives funding
• Walkers, dollars needed for Denton-area American Heart Walk in October
• Volunteers needed for UNT's annual Sunday Fun Day event Aug. 17
• Mean Green season ticket packages available

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