FAMILIA

By Christina Baerga and Stacy-Ann Ellis

As the saying goes, “the family that plays together stays together.” But what about working together? Long time Lehman College employee, Fausto Ramirez, has something to say about that.

The 44-year-old assistant director of public safety at Lehman College since 1984 has worked with his wife, Sonia, an accounts payable manager at Lehman. They try to travel to and from work together, but keep their distance during work hours. “We try to avoid each other,” said Ramirez. “We’re in separate buildings. It’s better that way.” He avoids his wife at work because he treasures their marriage and wants to keep it strong.

“We’ve been married now for 23 years,” Ramirez said. “She was my high school sweetheart.” The two met each other at age 17 and still love each other dearly to this day.

The Ramirez’s raised two children, both of whom attended college. The eldest daughter recently graduated from St. John’s University with a degree in graphic design. “She’s working for Urban Latino”—a magazine—“and is the junior graphic designer for the company,” said Ramirez. His son, meanwhile, is entering his second year at John Jay College, studying criminal justice, “just like his father.” Ramirez Sr. is proud that his son has not only chosen to attend the same college that he did, but that Ramirez, Jr. is also following the same career path.

Culture remains an integral part of this family’s life. Ramirez was raised in New York in a Puerto Rican family. When his mother was nine months pregnant with him, she left Puerto Rico and came to the States. “You could say I was made in Puerto Rico, but born here,” jokes Ramirez. He tries to visit his retired parents in Puerto Rico as often as he can, but due to his busy work schedule, that ends up being “once every three years.”

As a proud Puerto Rican man, he lives day by day loving his wife and his two children. He treasures the traditional values of his heritage and makes them a part of his household life. “We still keep the same music,” he said. “I even play the old music and now my kids like it too.” “The way my father and mother raised us [was] teaching us to…stay together all the time.”