Hello everyone! My name is Veronica Ramirez (she/her pronouns) and I’m a sophomore at Bryn Mawr College. My intended major is Computer Science with a minor in Anthropology. I was born and raised in Southeast Los Angeles. I grew up in South Gate, California where it’s a predominately Hispanic community. Southeast Los Angeles isn’t much of a tourist part of LA, but it holds so much beauty in the culture the people bring in the community. I love the yearly events the city of South Gate holds which include: the Tweedy Mile Street Fair, Children’s Christmas Lane Parade, Pageant of the Trees, and so much more! Each event brings the whole community together with delicious food and great performances. I’ve always loved going to these events since I was little. My parents own a taco truck business located in Compton, and we’ve had great support from the city councils of South Gate and Compton. They support us in many ways and I believe a city will further improve when there are people in the city council who genuinely want to make a difference.
Something that I’ve noticed my whole life is the social inequalities between the areas in Southeast Los Angeles and South Central compared to the areas in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. Southeast Los Angeles is in constant need of affordable housing, accessible healthcare, comprehensive education, mental health services, drug prevention, and stable jobs. It’s been decades in which the poor communities have lacked these resources.
Below is a picture of my parents and me with the former Mayor of South Gate at a city event. Follow us on Instagram @tacosmirey! :)
