Like many Carls, Esmeralda “Esme” Garcia-Ramirez ’27 is busy with more than just classes. The prospective biology major works as both a Project Friendship and TRIO peer mentor, acted in the fall theater production Anon(ymous), plays women’s club soccer, and writes newsletters for the Concussion Alliance — a non-profit health organization — all while balancing coursework, working as a lab assistant for Professor Rika Anderson in the biology department, and applying for externships.
Esme says the fact that her daily to-do list can be so long is directly thanks to financial aid. “Being able to come here is a blessing,” she said. “Not many people can say that they’re receiving all this money and this good education, meeting all these amazing people and having these amazing opportunities.” With financial aid, Esme is able to focus on her academics and enjoy the various organizations and activities at Carleton without stressing about money.
“Scholarships help make dreams come true,” Esme said. “And in my case … they allowed me to focus on what I want to do and be able to explore campus and not have to worry about the financial hardships my family is going through.” These hardships, Esme says, mean she needs to help her family back home in Delaware pay for bills and living expenses. Financial aid and scholarships are what currently keep her afloat at college.
Esme discovered Carleton through TeenSHARP, an organization designed to help low-income, underrepresented students fulfill their dreams of attending top-tier U.S. colleges, and immediately fell in love with the college and its charming traditions such as Dacie Moses House, the Cave, and Sproncert. Esme says she also loved Carleton’s atmosphere, the connections between students and professors, and the school’s pre-med program. Post-graduation, Esme hopes to enroll in medical school and potentially earn her doctorate in pediatric care, specializing in orthopedics. She loves kids and, as an athlete herself, Esme wants to make sure child athletes know how to take care of themselves and recover from injuries. She is also interested in public health and helping other low-income communities after growing up and seeing first-hand how some communities struggle with accessing healthcare.
But before Esme could start working towards a career of supporting others, she had to find support systems for herself — such as her professors. Transitioning to college can be challenging for many reasons, including learning how to manage time and what study methods work best. During fall term, Esme had been struggling to find this new groove and reached out to her biology professor, Jennifer Wolff. For the rest of the term, Professor Wolff met with Esme to review content and make sure Esme was keeping up in class.
“It really helped overall, because on my final, I ended up getting a 97,” Esme said.
With financial stress mostly covered and professors to lean on when she needs it, Esme says she’s able to not only focus on her academics but also enjoy downtime with friends. She loves Carleton’s traditions but says her favorite Carleton memory is when she had friends over to sing karaoke and play the video game “Just Dance.” Even though it may not be as exciting as Sproncert or Midwinter Ball, Esme will never forget it and is excited to make more memories like it over the next couple of years.