The Advocate Asks: Damian Ramirez ‘29
Damian Ramirez ‘29.
AA: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
DR: My name is Damian Ramirez. I’m a sophomore studying politics with a second focus in literature and a concentration in medieval studies. I got involved with the CCE in my freshman year, and now I’m the Civic Ambassadors Lead Fellow and a CCE Action intern.
AA: What is the role of civic ambassadors on campus?
DR: Civic ambassadors fill the niches that other CCE projects don't fill— Election@Bard fills the election branch and VolunteerCorps gets people volunteering and interning outside of campus. Our team, the civic ambassadors, bring people in to talk with students and try to get students to engage locally: either in Red Hook, in New York State, or their home state. As a lifelong Coloradoan, I want to help other out-of-state students who don’t identify with changing their ballot to New York get engaged locally.
AA: How do you feel your work as a civic ambassador ties into your major?
DR: I’m a politics major who is more on the political theory side of things. I want to see on-the-ground work, because any politics major needs to understand that people don’t think in theory. The civic ambassadors try to get students to understand that even if they don’t feel their life is political, politics works with them in the world.
AA: What is one of your favorite things about being a civic ambassador?
DR: Helping people get engaged. I know that sounds obvious, but it’s just so fun to see people learn from what you’re doing, and to see people actually start realizing that they need politics to help them. You can’t be apolitical in a political society.
AA: What are some of the qualities of a civic ambassador?
DR: We look for passion and drive. We look for people who are already deeply civically engaged, or are interested in being civically engaged, because we want to lead by example.
AA: What are some other services that civic ambassadors can help with?
DR: We try to get people to talk to people who aren't just politicians— we also try to get people engaged with the news. We encourage students to read news and articles, and we’ll try to sum up our own information on a specific issue.
AA: How can students get in touch with the civic ambassadors team?
Visit the CCE’s open door hours, catch us at a CCE event, or email [email protected] to get in touch with us.
The Annandale Advocate would like to thank Damian for their time and thoughtful responses.
Post Date: 09-25-2026