UTRGV’s Lilia Ramírez named NCRE Undergraduate Student of the Year

by Gail Fagan

EDINBURG, Texas –  The dream of going to college never faded for Lilia Ramírez, now 46.

Despite challenges that could overwhelm students many years younger, the native of Mexico graduated from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in December 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation services with an addictions studies concentration. And this month, she picks up a special honor: She has been named Undergraduate Student of the Year by the National Council on Rehabilitation Education (NCRE).

The award is presented to an undergraduate student who has demonstrated outstanding service, leadership, advocacy and/or research contributions in rehabilitation and/or with individuals with disabilities.

“I had a lot of issues in my own life and I want to help other people with their issues,” she said. “I want them to get out there, do something and have a normal life.”

After moving to the Rio Grande Valley in 1979, Ramírez, then 17, endured a rough upbringing at home and had to move out to live and work on her own. While she still hoped to graduate with her senior class, a hospital stay during her last semester was viewed by her high school as “dropping out.”

“I felt like such a failure because I had worked so hard throughout high school, and actually had good grades. I had plans to graduate and to go to college … the stigma was harsh,” she said.

So she fired up her determination, took another run at education and earned her GED, picked up some vocational training and worked at various jobs before moving to Oregon. There, she became a single mother to a special needs child, now 16. Returning to the Valley because of her daughter’s health issues, Ramírez worked at cleaning homes and in home health.

Later, she became a beautician, and it was at the spa where she worked that she met Leila Flores-Torres, M.A., LSSP, a licensed specialist in school psychology and a Ph.D. candidate in rehabilitation counseling at UTRGV.

“She was having trouble trying to raise a daughter, working two jobs and also being a provider for her grandmother,” said Flores, a Donna ISD special education supervisor, who ultimately nominated Ramírez for the NCRE recognition. “But she also talked to me about her goals and I saw how smart she was.”

With Flores’ encouragement, Ramírez started taking online classes at South Texas College and earned an associate degree in psychology in 2012. When she enrolled at UT Pan American, she started going to counseling services herself, which helped her cope with her own issues brought on by a challenging past.

Ramírez said she has appreciated the accessibility and helpfulness of faculty in the rehabilitation program.

“I liked that I could go any time and they would see me,” she said. “Even if I didn’t have an appointment, they were ready and available. They are very student-oriented.”

At the university, she became an enthusiastic and gifted researcher.

Working with faculty members Shawn Saladin, Ph.D., CRC, CPM, and John Ronnau, Ph.D., Ramírez helped coordinate the Community Health Education/Prevention (CHEP) Team to distribute health-related information and conduct nearly 1,000 surveys of Valley citizens regarding their health needs at area fleamarkets.

“The CHEP project was quite an undertaking,” Saladin said. “She set it up and was there supervising the project each Saturday for months. We promoted her to the CHEP coordinator because of her excellent work ethic and interpersonal skills. UTRGV is lucky to have a student of her caliber in our program.”

Ramírez has presented her CHEP-related research, as well as her findings regarding the needs of Mexican-American adolescents with autism spectrum disorders, and the vocational rehabilitation of Mexican-American women with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, locally and at the national and regional conferences of NCRE and The National Association for Multicultural Rehabilitation.

Currently, she is a special education instructional assistant in the Donna ISD and hopes to earn her teacher certification. Ramírez recently was accepted into UTRGV’s master’s degree program in rehabilitation counseling, and plans to one day earn a Ph.D. in the field.

“There is a lot of need here in the Valley for rehabilitation counselors and for counseling in general,” Ramírez said. “I feel if someone would have guided me a little bit or helped me with what I was going through, I would have gone a different way at an earlier age. But it is never too late to help a person become functional and get back on their feet again.”

Ramírez will accept her award April 22 at the NCRE Spring 2016 National Conference in Newport Beach, California. UTRGV is a conference platinum sponsor.

UTRGV’s School of Rehabilitation Services and Counseling had more than 1,000 students in fall 2015 and 25 full-time faculty members. Last year, the program was ranked No. 15 out of 88 schools in the country in U.S. New and World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools” rankings for the 2016 edition.

The NCRE is a professional organization of educators dedicated to quality services for persons with disabilities through education and research. Formed in 1955, NCRE has evolved into the leading professional association for rehabilitation educators in the 21st century and has grown to represent more than 100 institutions of higher education and more than 400 members.