Student receives scholarship for feminist camp in New York
Patricia Ramirez received a $1,250 scholarship to attend the Soapbox Feminist Camp in New York City in January.
Ramirez of Weston, Florida, will have the opportunity to work first-hand with activists, listen to prominent speakers and learn about the work of feminists outside of classroom.
Ramirez said she was in “disbelief” when she received the scholarship to attend the camp.
“I thought I might get a small scholarship, but this was nothing I could have imagined. I immediately called my twin brother and told him the news,” Ramirez said. “It’s exciting that I get to travel to New York, but I think the most exciting thing is what I am going to learn and take from the camp. I see the camp as an opportunity to get a new perspective or learn about something I hadn’t even thought of.”
Feminist Camp was first held in 2006 and was founded by Amy Richards and Jennifer Baumgardner with the mission of allowing campers to explore the landscape of feminist work, learn about themselves and envision what their feminist futures could look like.
Ramirez said that in past camps a plethora of subjects have been discussed.
“The camp has a lot of guest speakers who come in to talk about women in the workplace,” Ramirez said. “I am looking forward to the camp and hearing a lot of different experiences but also take a lot of different ideas of what can be brought here.”
I thought it would be a hard transition to coming here from out of state, but the campus is easy fall in love with and it feels like home. It’s one of the best decisions I have made with my life.
One of the reasons Ramirez is attending the camp is because of her desire to implement something similar at Radford. She is working with Michele Ren, assistant professor of English and Women’s Studies, to bring their idea to fruition next year.
When Ramirez arrived at Radford University this fall, she didn’t think that opportunities such as this would be available to her as an underclassman.
“I’ve gotten very involved in campus in as many ways as possible. That’s definitely an experience I have Radford to thank for,” Ramirez said. “If I had gone to another school, I wouldn’t have been able to get so involved. There are so many opportunities and leadership opportunities that I feel like I’ve had the chance to grow as a person and as a leader.”