For sophomore Newhouse-Whitman dual major Jack Ramza, community service was never about feeling the self-gratification in helping others or the accolades. So, when Syeisha Byrd, director of engagement programs at Hendricks Chapel, told Ramza that he was one of this year’s Unsung Hero Award recipients, he was unsure how to respond.   

“And Syeisha’s like ‘You’ve been nominated, and you actually won the award,’” Ramza remembers. “I was racing through the airport, so it didn’t really hit me, and so, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s amazing.’” 

At the 35th annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on Jan. 26, surrounded by about 2,000 people, including the other award recipients, Ramza was honored for his commitment in building sustainable relationships with community organizations to broaden the service scope of OrangeSeeds, according to Syracuse University news. 

Rev. Brian Konkol, Dean of Hendricks Chapel, is tasked with deciding the winners once a subcommittee narrows down the list of nominees. He said awards go to faculty, staff, students and community members who make a positive difference in the community. 

“By lifting up these individuals who have embodied the life and legacy of Dr. King in an area of their lives, we hope that it inspires others to do the same and recognize that the heroes of our society aren’t always the individuals being celebrated publicly,” Konkol said.  

Back in the airport, the news did not fully hit Ramza that his OrangeSeeds adviser and program coordinator in the Office of First-Year and Transfer Programs, Jimmy Luckman, had nominated him for the award. Ramza’s only knowledge of the award came because Byrd had won it in the previous year.   

“I think for me it was his continuous energy and excitement about community service. Jack has really taken the time to really build relationships with Syeisha and understand community service and be able to bring that up in conversation with the seeds,” Luckman said.  

Ramza said that OrangeSeeds is a “first-year empowerment program” that links leadership initiatives to volunteer service and culminates in the spring with the largest student-run day of service known as “The Big Event.” He added that he began in OrangeSeeds as the co-head of the community relations committee, where he first helped to establish relations with 17 local service organizations. 

Above all, however, Ramza was and remains in constant communication with Byrd, whom he said he looks up to. 

Sophomore Jack Ramza (left) received the Unsung Hero Award from Chancellor Kent Syverud during the 35th annual 35th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration held on Jan. 26. Lucy Messineo Witt | Staff Photographer

As a sophomore, Ramza applied to the executive board for the community relations chair position and played a role in organizing the fall Service Saturday events that OrangeSeeds participated in off campus as well as “The Big Event.” 

These service opportunities included a beautification initiative, where Seeds helped paint a mural, and the We Rise Above the Streets barbecue, where they helped serve food to homeless people. Conversing with the people at this event had a profound impact on Ramza, he said. 

“After that, when we walked by a homeless person, a lot of people would just ignore them and keep their head down, and you know I just always tried to at least say something,” Ramza said. “Even if I don’t have money or what it may be, just talking to them because I think that’s the biggest thing that makes me love doing what I do.”  

But volunteer and service work are nothing new for the Kansas native. In middle school and high school,Ramza was heavily involved in two organizations: The Children’s Place and the YMCA.  

The Children’s Place functions as a school and daycare for children in the community. Ramza said that this was often a “bright spot” in these kids’ lives. As a volunteer, Ramza would partake in reading days and assist in the classroom setting.  

Ramza fondly recalled that, during the summers, Kansas residents would open their pools up to the organization and allow the children to learn how to swim. Meanwhile, in the fall, Ramza helped coach the YMCA flag football program in Kansas City, Missouri for K-12 children with disabilities. 

Yet, while service is something that Ramza finds gratifying, he does it more for the connections and the conversations that he is able to share with the people around him. 

“For me, I don’t do service necessarily to have that ‘Oh, I feel like a good person volunteering’ and all that,” Ramza said. “It’s more just getting to interact with different people that you don’t interact with on a daily basis, and just like actually getting to have conversations with other human beings who come from different lifestyles.” 

One such experience that has stuck with Ramza occurred when the Seeds made a trip to The Nottingham senior living facility. Ramza said that he spoke with one resident for 45 minutes about his professional golf career, his family and SU sports. 

Konkol also took notice of Ramza’s commitment to the community throughout his various encounters with him.  

“I found him to be very humble, and that, of course, is indicative of those that receive an Unsung Hero Award, is they tend to be humble people who don’t want to bring a lot of attention to themselves and do the good work of building the beloved community,” Konkol said. “Even up to the ceremony in the Dome, you could see this look of gratitude in Jack.”   

Ramza said he found the ceremony very inspirational, adding that it’s difficult to articulate the experience of being part of MLK’s celebration of life. 

In a last-minute decision, his parents and sister made the trip to SU, and his best friends from the university attended as well. This made the ceremony all the more special for Ramza, he said. 

“I don’t want to say it was overwhelming, but you do the things you do, and you don’t really expect to get recognized,” Ramza said. “Being a part of that celebration was just amazing, and, like, sitting down there onstage, and, like, it was definitely an amazing experience I will always remember.”

 

Published on February 18, 2020 at 11:50 pm