More than just the writer of this story, I’ve had the opportunity to watch this young man throughout his life and witness his enthusiasm, positive attitude, and work ethic. Today, Ramón Márquez is the ninth-grade building principal for the Wilson School District, raising three children with his wife, Myranda, a Professional Development Facilitator for the Reading School District.
Born in Puerto Rico, Ramón came to Reading, PA as a young child. His family moved to the Glenside Housing Project, directly across from Christ Lutheran Church where I had recently begun working as their Director of Educational Ministries in an environment focused on children and youth programming. It was at the Bridgebuilders After School Program that I met this young boy during a baseball game in the church yard.
Ramón remembers, “In 1990 we moved to Glenside, and I started attending the Bridgebuilders Program at the church. Looking back, I was always in the right place at the right time. Through the Bridgebuilders I became involved with the people at the church and started coming to church on Sunday mornings. Pastor Bruce and other church members were mentors that connected me, and where I gained depth of knowledge culturally and linguistically, in a culture that most Latinos didn’t often get to experience. All of the Pennsylvania Dutch things, the ins and outs of the American culture; I experienced a lot of growth spending time and going to functions there.”
When Ramón’s family moved from Glenside to Wunder Street in Reading, getting to church and the programs became more difficult. The choir director began to pick him up for church, and our family would give him a ride home afterward. We had three sons of our own and soon many of our Sunday afternoons included Ramón for family dinners and outings.
“Growing up in a Latino family was different,” Ramon explains. “They were good hard-working people but didn’t have the knowledge to provide the supplemental enrichment. The American way of looking at things promoted extra-curricular activities which interested me. I decided I wanted to learn the violin which I could get at school at nearly no cost. People at the church helped arrange for performance opportunities and transportation. I was grateful for the opportunity to develop my mind musically. Eventually, I was able to pay for my own private lessons. Thanks to these lessons and the encouragement to practice in my junior year I became first chair in the Reading High School Orchestra. In addition to music, I signed up for soccer, wrestling, and track (but was cut from the baseball team!). I also learned that I was a pretty good runner. As a young adult I was immature, but the guidance I received from the people around me made me resourceful. I feel very fortunate that I got to see two different types of families growing up which helped me to appreciate both cultures.”
“When it came time to think about college, I had to go into a summer development program because I didn’t test very well, and I wasn’t sure about what I wanted to study. I was working as the Director of the YMCA summer camp at the church, and I enjoyed working with children. I had to choose a major, so I chose secondary education with a focus in Spanish as well as getting into French and world languages. I did very well and started out with a strong GPA. I graduated from Lock Haven University with a BS in Education, and a master’s in education from the University of Turabo, in Puerto Rico.“
“From 2003 to 2008, I worked near Richmond, Virginia at Westpoint Public Schools as a Spanish teacher before moving back to the area so my wife and I could be closer to family. I was hired by the Wilson School District where I have been for the past 18 years; first as a Spanish teacher and then as an administrator, specifically the ninth-grade building principal. I received my principals’ certification from Alvernia University. It was an organized program, and I felt like I was ready to step out and try it when the opportunity presented itself. Moving from the classroom to an administrative position is all about solving problems. I enjoy coming to work, and I have the most wonderful people around me; secretaries, guidance counselors, dean of students, custodians, everybody does their job here. The teachers are good, the kids are good, and the community is good.”
Travel, culture, and languages became a passion for Ramón, sparked by a trip to Argentina through the Northeastern Pennsylvania Lutheran Synod in his young adulthood. “That trip really got me interested in studying Spanish. It motivated me to travel to France for a month until I ran out of money and had to cut the trip short. I went to Québec and stayed for a summer to learn French. I enjoy studying language, and teaching language. I always felt like I should model what I expect from my own kids and the students at school. I believe that travel is really important, and I have taken my family to spend a month in Costa Rica, and to Puerto Rico, and I’ve also organized and chaperoned multiple international (student) trips. I was also lucky enough to travel to China with colleagues from the Wilson School District to visit our sister school in Shijiazhuang.”
Ramón notes that he has never spoken English to his three children who are fully bilingual, so that they would be able to easily communicate with his Spanish-speaking parents and other family members as well as having an advantage when traveling abroad.“ I want my kids to experience travel, and I am grateful that my wife Myranda has supported my passion for traveling with them.”
As a father of three very bright and talented children, Ramón has impressed upon his family many of the lessons he learned growing up. “I believe in taking care of your mind, body, and spirit which I learned at the YMCA; being competitive, committed, and accountable, working hard, exercising, developing, unplugging. Every day there are things that you have to do; routines, practices, dinner together, chores. We try to emphasize these things. We encouraged our kids to pick a sport and an instrument and then commit to it.”
With the school year about to begin, Ramón looks forward to working with his students at Wilson to cultivate some of the important things that he has impressed upon his own family, and the things that have shaped him in his life, values that have placed him in leadership positions along the way.
“I served as the camp director at the YMCA summer camp that I once attended as a child, Council President of Christ Lutheran Church where I attended growing up, and I am presently President of the Western Berks Mission District, which supports congregations in this area of the county. With a fellow administrator, Pete Rinella, I formed a leadership group called the Kingsmen, a diverse group of boys, and it has been a really positive experience. I like to get the kids to volunteer and organize things for other students. I get to work with kids who remind me of myself, and who are motivated and care about people. They have a positive outlook and leadership qualities. Being a club advisor is hard at times, working nine to ten hours some days because the kids are very involved, but working with them and their families really highlights the wonderful community we have, and these interactions are my way of giving back within the school.”