GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Lupe Ramos-Montigny first came to Michigan as a girl, working alongside her family on different farms during summer months. She is now a leader in West Michigan's Hispanic community, vital in efforts to keep younger generations educated on the vibrant cultures that came before.
In her teenage years, Ramos-Montigny and her family were living in Weslaco, Texas.
“My parents were born in Mexico, and when they were babies, their parents moved to Texas,” she recalled in a sit-down with FOX 17.
Her father always valued education, but during the summer months, the family would travel northward for seasonal work.
“We came for about three years as migrant farm workers from Weslaco, Texas, and we would go to the thumb, and hull beets, and then we would go to Mission Peninsula, above Traverse City, and we would pick cherries.”
They would also make stops in Indiana to pick tomatoes before going back home to Texas as a new school year would begin.
After graduating college in Texas, she was recruited to teach in Michigan. She would spend much of her adult working life with Grand Rapids Public Schools in some capacity.
She became involved in local politics in 2002. She would later move into state politics, introducing legislation to incorporate the life and lessons of Cesar E. Chavez into Michigan schools.
“We were very diligent; we got the standards from from first grade on to 12th grade,” she explained.
“So students know more about who contributed to this beautiful state: the history, the culture, the food and music.”
In 2006, she was elected to the Michigan State Board of Education.
While pursuing a broader understanding of Hispanic cultures, she has been instrumental in carrying forward the city of Grand Rapids' annual Mexican Festival and in developing and launching the city’s Hispanic Festival.
While the GR Hispanic Festival began somewhat small, with about 100 people in attendance, it has grown to a large and diverse annual event.
"Throughout the history of the festivals, it's all for the same reasons ... we want to highlight who we are, and we want to highlight our stories and our contributions to the fabric that makes Grand Rapids.”
On Tuesday, Oct. 17, her mission marches on.
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The 2023 Cesar E. Chavez Hispanic Excellence Scholarship and Community Award Gala will take place at Noto's Old World Italian Dining on 28th Street.
Chavez's son Paul will be there to deliver the keynote speech.
“When we celebrate his life, we think of 'How have I used one of his values in my life?' to help other people to bring the next one along,” Ramos-Montigny said.
The annual event gives out $6,000 scholarships for Hispanic students pursuing higher education.
“Cesar always taught us to move forward, whether it be education, whether it be union related, whether it be our lives.”
The event will feature representatives from major organizations, as well as a handful of particularly special guests.
There will be several former scholarship recipients there Tuesday to speak about their journeys, and how far they have come.
“We're helping people that are underserved. We're helping people that don't have a voice,” Ramos-Montigny said.
