The United Independent School District honored its retirees with a special goodbye banquet on Thursday, April 24 at Los Patios, where employees capped off wonderful careers that spanned decades.
Employees ranging from teachers to custodians to carpenters and executive directors enjoyed their moment in the spotlight. Sixty-five workers were at the banquet. Overall, 147 employees are retiring from the district this year.
District 2 Board Member Rodolfo “Rudy” Gonzalez, Jr. attended the event and wished the employees the best.
“I just hope they enjoy life. They have committed and dedicated their life to UISD for so many years. I just wish them nothing but the best for them and their families and future endeavors,” Gonzalez said. “I want to congratulate them from the bottom of my heart.”
Superintendent Dr. Gerardo Cruz echoed Gonzalez’s sentiment.
“I want to wish them the best of luck and I don’t want them to think of it as an end. It’s the beginning of a new chapter and it’s a very exciting time for new opportunities for them,” Dr. Cruz said. “I am very appreciative of all the years of service they put into the school district and it’s just a testament to their commitment to public education. Some of them have well over 30, and even 40 years, of service and that is a testament to their hard work and dedication.”
Among those at the banquet was Jackie Ramos, United South High School 9th Grade Campus Librarian, who is leaving the district after 30 years of service. She shed a few tears as she talked about her experience with UISD and what factored into her decision to retire.
“At first, I was a little bit scared because I didn’t know what the future was going to hold but then I looked at my mental checklist. Have you done this, this and this? What have you learned from this experience?” said Ramos, also a member of the Laredo College Board of Trustees. “I am satisfied with the legacy I leave behind. That was a very big decision for me, and I did a lot of soul searching with God and talked to my husband and my kids. My kids, one is 30 and the other is 27, guided me. They said, ‘Mom, you have done everything’.”
At one point in her career, an administrator had approached her and asked her if she was interested in being a principal and she declined because she loved being a librarian.
“Being a librarian has been my top accolade. I was going to be a pharmacist but things changed and went into a different direction. God had another plan for me. The path brought me here to the United South campus. This is where I wanted to retire from because this is where I started,” said Ramirez, who said she will keep busy after retirement and is considering new careers. “I am ready for another adventure in my life and we will see. For the first time, I don’t know what’s around the corner and I am ok. I am not worried.”
Also at the banquet was Cynthia Ramirez, Executive Director for Non-Traditional Learning Environments with Curriculum and Instruction. She is retiring after being with the district for 15 years. Prior to that she was with Laredo Independent School District for 19 years and before that she was in television journalism for 11 years both locally and in Austin.
Ramirez, the daughter of the late Graciela C. Ramirez, who was the first female superintendent in Laredo as the leader of LISD, has many pieces from her mother’s office décor from 1995 hanging in her office now.
She described retirement as “embarking on the unknown for those of us who have worked all of our lives.”
“It’s something you always talk about, that you work for and live for and one day and one more and when that day comes, it can make you a little shaky,” Ramirez said. “You ask yourself if you are doing the right thing. I know this is the right move for me, and I am going to spend time with my family and my son who is going to middle school next year, and I will be there for him.”
Ramirez said she would like to one day see a really positive perspective of education, which is the foundation of a working society and keystone to success. She said that as a society we need to take more advantage of the opportunities that come with public education.
And, above all, public education employees are servants, she stressed.
“My mother used to tell me, ‘Mijita, no matter what, you will treat everybody with dignity and respect because we are public servants’,” she said.
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