Advice from the Friendly Face of GSE

When entering into any public building, it’s always nice to see a friendly face.  Penn GSE has that in the form of the security officers who sit at a desk near the entrance of the building.

One security officer I’ve gotten to know a little more than the others is Officer Edwin Ramos.  Normally he sees me flying  to class, but we manage to say hello to each other anyway.   A soft-spoken and insightful individual, Officer Ramos takes time to help the GSE students and to connect with them.  I caught up with Officer Ramos to get his perspective on some of the things he sees from perhaps the best seat in the house at GSE.

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MW: How is it working at GSE?  What is your favorite part?

ER: It’s a feel good environment at GSE.  My favorite part is meeting diverse people with different ethnic backgrounds.

MW:   What things about the GSE student community stand out to you?

ER: Just the fact that it’s so diverse.  It’s good to see the different cultures and get exposed to them.  Everyone is different in their own way.  The international students put a lot of effort in learning the culture and the American ways of communication. 

Officer Ramos at the security desk in GSE

MW: What advice do you have for students who are new to Penn (or who are considering Penn)?

ER: Absorb the diversity and the culture.  It’s something you can expand on.  You never know where you’re going to go.  Learning about them [the cultures] opens doors wherever you go.  Make it an initiative to absorb the cultures and keep them, putting them into practice.  The International students put in the time to learn the American culture.  I think American students should try to give the International students that same courtesy.

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As this was my first interview for this blog and I was expecting something really brief, I ran out of questions (!).  But additional questions weren't really needed.  Our interview turned into a conversation about the career choices GSE students make and how there’s a desire that builds within the students to truly go out into the world and help.  “The past 3 semesters,” Officer Ramos stated, “I’ve seen students study for something but take it in a totally different direction.  They wanted to make a bigger difference and make a bigger impact.  They wanted to educate and be educated.  Absorbing the cultures is a pathway to a lot of these things.” 

At the end of our conversation, Officer Ramos told me the story of a former GSE student who was having a bit of trouble with his papers, and how he guided him to the people in GSE who could help.  That student has now graduated and obtained a job working as an Academic Advisor, and has been consistently grateful to Officer Ramos for the assistance. 

Officer Ramos’ role at GSE, and his character, can be perfectly summed up by one of the last things he told me: “I try to help out everybody.”

It’s characters like this that can make all the difference in a large institution like Penn.