# @princetonspia on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/B9rS7p8hNkG
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/20742493-princetonspia-instagram
- **Posted:** 2020-03-13T14:04:32.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Princeton SPIA (@princetonspia) — https://gondola.cc/princetonspia

## Caption

#WooWho: “I was born in San Diego but spent a lot of my childhood at my grandmother’s. My parents drove across the border to Tijuana to drop me off at her house. She lived on the northernmost street of Mexico, so her front door neighbor was the concrete wall that separates the two countries. She once said, ‘Look, Sofia. My house is on the last road of Latin America.” My mom added, ‘You are in between two cultures. Knowing them both, you can build bridges instead of walls.’ I studied abroad in Taiwan later in life because I was compelled to connect. While abroad, my host family’s grandmother passed away. I’d only lived with them five weeks, but was fully brought into the Buddhist ceremony to commemorate her death. We cried, danced, laughed. It was a profound bonding experience with my family. I wasn’t completely fluent in Chinese so I felt a little lost, but the emotions were so strong I found myself understanding everything. I know these moments will shape my future career as a diplomat, where I’ll be required to jump from country to country and connect with other cultures. I’m here at Princeton on a Pickering Fellowship via statedept. The fellowship brings diversity into the largely male- and white-dominated Foreign Service. There’s added pressure, at least on myself, as a woman and a person of color. Not only do I have to succeed for myself, but I have to for the people in the future that look like me. As minorities, we’re often told we need to make our voices be heard, force ourselves to be known. But in my life and at Wilson_School, I’m taking a different approach. I'm spending a lot of time listening instead of feeling like I have to have an opinion. Eventually, I’ll be able to comment on policy with authority and have a more textured approach. For now, I’m okay not knowing everything. People say you have to work twice as hard as a minority, but I think you also need to listen twice as hard. Be open to different people’s opinions and experiences before you feel like you have to create your own.” - Sofia Ramirez MPA ’21. (Video by eganjimenez). * #WooWho is a Wilson_School Instagram series featuring our community. Want to be featured? Comment/DM us.

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 127
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 11

## Tags

woowho

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