Ramon is a lifetime member of the IU Alumni Association and he is currently the Membership Chair for the IUAA Washington D.C. chapter. While in Washington D.C., Ramon had the opportunity to play three seasons of Big Ten Alumni softball in the National Mall, how cool! After taking some time off from IU activities, he said he missed everything about being an IU Hoosier. Therefore, when there was a vacancy spot open for the Membership Chair position for the D.C. chapter, Ramon took it as a sign and opportunity to contribute back to the IUAA community.

Ramon’s favorite part of volunteering is being able to witness the connection of bringing IU alumni together from different academic schools, sororities, fraternities and graduation years. However, he says that his favorite moments of being a volunteer is when he notices someone wearing IU swag in the Washington D.C. area “I generally start a conversation and will invite them to an event or to join our social media communications. I work to the best of my ability to make the IUAA volunteer experience fun and welcoming for new and current IUAA D.C. chapter members.”

He emphasized that volunteering is a very rewarding way to give back and provides IU alumni with a strong sense of purpose knowing that they are contributing to the IU Day of Service mission and exemplifying what it means to be an IU Hoosier. He says volunteering provides a connection to the local community, which enhances IU’s brand of giving across the globe.

Ramon’s proudest contribution to the IUAA D.C. community was helping to establish more of a presence for the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ+) Alumni Association in D.C. “With the leadership of myself and another board member, we want to make sure the IUAA Washington D.C. LGBTQ+ community has representation as well as social and professional programs.”

Thank you, Ramon, for all your hard work and inspiring dedication to Indiana University and the IU Alumni Association. We are honored to have someone like you on our volunteer team and we can’t wait to see what you will do next!