Oscar Ramirez has always been industrious. He paid off his college loans while earning an engineering degree in Mexico by managing a restaurant—which grew over 300 percent on his watch. So it’s no surprise that he was up for the challenge of coming to America in 1999 via an exchange program. Ramirez lived with a family in Plymouth for a year while studying English at Hennepin Technical College; in turn, his host family plans to send their kids to stay with Ramirez’s family in Mexico to study Spanish.
After earning an MBA at St. Thomas in 2002, Ramirez was hired by Ceiling Professionals International, an Eden Prairie company specializing in ceiling cleaning and restoration with more than 500 dealerships worldwide. Twice selected as “employee of the year,” Ramirez was promoted to director of international development in 2007.
His volunteer activities include assisting elderly and handicapped people. He recently applied to a mentorship program to mentor a Latino adolescent from a troubled family. “I like to help young people who didn’t have the opportunity to be raised in a good family like I was,” he says.
