Skip to Main Content
  • About
  • Academics
  • Admissions
  • Campus Life
  • News & Media
  • Athletics
  • Support BC
  • Our Campus
  • Fast Facts
  • Administration
  • Initiatives, Plans and Policies
  • A Nationally Recognized Institution
  • International Education
  • Research
  • Our Past, Our Future
  • Offices and Services
  • Consumer Information
  • Contact Us
  • Schools
  • Academic Departments
  • Majors, Minors and Concentrations
  • Interdisciplinary Programs
  • Graduate Programs
  • Doctoral Programs
  • General Education
  • Honors Academy
  • Special Programs
  • International Programs and Study Abroad (IPSA)
  • Academic Resources
  • Library
  • Centers and Institutes
  • Academic Honor Societies
  • Technology
  • Research
  • Faculty
  • Course Schedules and Bulletins
  • Academic Calendar
  • Incoming Freshmen
  • Transfer Students
  • Graduate Students
  • International Students
  • Second-Degree Students
  • Other Students
  • Apply
  • Tuition, Fees and Payments
  • Financial Aid
  • Request Information
  • Visit Campus
  • Undergraduate Admissions Events
  • Graduate Admissions Events
  • BC News
  • BC In the Media
  • Research
  • Videos
  • Brooklyn College Magazine
  • Office of Communications and Marketing
  • Visit us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Email us a question
  • What the Campus Has to Offer
  • Vice President for Student Affairs
  • Division of Student Affairs
  • Student Clubs
  • Intramurals / Recreation
  • Health and Wellness
  • Orientation
  • Commencement
  • Veteran and Military Programs
  • Living in Brooklyn
  • Brooklyn College Foundation
  • Donate Now
  • Visit us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Email us a question
Brooklyn College

Brooklyn College logo
  • BC WebCentral
  • We Stand Against Hate
  • Calendar
  • Offices and Services
  • Library
  • Career Services
  • Honors Academy
  • Special Programs
  • Prospective Students
  • Current Students
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Alumni & Friends
  • Admissions
  • Undergraduate Admissions
  • Graduate Admissions
  • Apply Online
  • Transfer Evaluations Office
  • Campus Life
  • Financial Aid
  • Honors and Special Programs
  • Library
  • News and Media
  • Public Safety
  • Annual Security Report
  • Registrar
  • Academic Advising
  • Annual Security Report
  • Bookstore
  • Bursar
  • Calendars
  • Campus Life
  • Career Development and Internships
  • Commencement
  • Course Schedules and Bulletins
  • CUNY Blackboard
  • Enrollment Services Center
  • Financial Aid
  • Graduate Studies
  • Initiatives, Plans and Policies
  • International Programs and Study Abroad (IPSA)
  • Library
  • News and Media
  • Offices and Services
  • Pathways
  • Public Safety
  • Registrar
  • Registration Information
  • Resources for Undocumented Students and DACA
  • Scholarships and Awards
  • Student Handbook
  • Sustainability
  • Technology
  • Transfer Evaluations Office
  • Log into CUNYfirst
  • BC WebCentral Login
  • Forgot Your Password?
  • Forgot Your WebCentral ID?
  • New Users
  • College Directory
  • Academic Affairs / Office of the Provost
  • Annual Security Report
  • Senior VP for Finance and Administration
  • Bookstore
  • Calendars
  • Campus Directory
  • Campus Life
  • Center for Teaching
  • CUNY Blackboard
  • Faculty Council
  • Faculty and Staff Development Opportunities (CUNY)
  • Human Resources
  • ITS (Information Technology Services)
  • Library
  • News and Media
  • Offices and Services
  • Public Safety
  • Sustainability
  • Transfer Evaluations Office
  • Webmail
  • Writing Across the Curriculum
  • Log into CUNYfirst
  • BC WebCentral Login
  • Forgot Your Password?
  • Forgot Your WebCentral ID?
  • New Users
  • College Directory
  • Annual Security Report
  • Benefits and Services
  • Brooklyn College Alumni Association
  • Brooklyn College Foundation
  • Brooklyn College Magazine
  • Calendar of Events
  • Chapters and Affiliates
  • Get Involved and Give Back
  • Office of Alumni Engagement
  • Stay in Touch
  • Transcripts
  • Public Safety
  • Contact Us
  • News & Media
  • BC News
  • Archive - 2021
  • She Goes in Peace

An alumna searching for answers to some big questions travels to Rome for a unique master’s degree program that feeds her desires to affect change. 

/web/new_2021news/DanielaAlbaRamirez_94x84.jpg

She Goes in Peace

Nov. 15, 2021

By Jamilah Simmons

Daniela Alba Ramirez '21 

Daniela Alba Ramirez '21 

Daniela Alba Ramirez ’21 has some deep questions tugging at her. How did she land in “a privileged spot in the hierarchy of immigrant experiences” (she’s a U.S. citizen)? What should she do with that privilege? Why is it so easy for many of us to turn a blind eye to suffering? Why do some people have “unwarranted wealth” while others are doomed to a life of working twice as hard for a fraction of the rewards?

“These are things I’ve always questioned heavily in my heart,” says the Colombian-born former philosophy major who is now in a master’s degree program in peace studies at The American University of Rome.

Reared in the United States, Alba Ramirez has traveled the globe and worked in jobs she had no intention of staying in—from the service industry to the corporate world—to check out the view from different vantage points.

Now she’s doing a deep dive into the political economy of peace and war, from both a religious and nonreligious context. She’s looking at everything from critical race theory to the role of women in the Roman Catholic Church and studying ecclesiastical law so that she can push for changes to it.

She was inspired to pursue the program after meeting Pope Francis at an audience for a youth group where he spoke about the importance of incorporating more women into the institution of the church.

“I was very moved by his words,” Alba Ramirez says, noting that she’s a lifelong Catholic who wants to push the church to accept people from all walks and all lifestyles. “I want to look at what part of our moral and ethical code relies heavily on outdated aspects of religious law and tenets that forbid us, and the institution of the church, from progressing and adapting to modern times.”

She had been thinking about becoming a canon lawyer and working for the Vatican. Now she says she’s leaning more toward working with nongovernment organizations on the ground. Up until she left for Rome in August, she had been working as an administrative assistant at St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, helping the undocumented community there respond to the pandemic by providing various services and acquiring basic goods.

She realized that nothing compares to “the feeling of coming home and saying, ‘I did my part,’” and that she doesn’t want to divorce herself from realities on the ground.

“I enjoy working one-on-one with real people on a daily basis,” she says. “With all of the privileges that I have been given, I just want to be of service. This feels like a natural path for me.”

 

Back to BC News
  • Additional Content - Text and rightColumn: Tweet

News & Media

Back to News & Media

Image of a phone with social media icons.

Let’s Stay Connected

Our social media directory features all our accounts from across campus.

Fall 2022 COVID-19 Guidelines

Fall 2022 COVID-19 Guidelines

Prepare for a crucial transition for the fall 2022 semester.

Group of faculty members

Outstanding Professors

Our highly trained faculty are leaders in their fields. Come learn from them.

View of the upper portions of buildings from the residential neighborhoods around the Brooklyn College campus.

Housing Options

Learn about housing options that are available in Brooklyn. 

  • Home
  • Directory
  • Employment
  • IT Remote Support
  • Remote Technology Resources
  • Privacy Policy
  • Policies
  • Contact
  • Text Only Website
  • Site Map
The City University of New York

© All Rights Reserved Brooklyn College
2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11210
718.951.5000 -$ipAddress"; ?>