Angela Ramos was born in Brooklyn, New York, in a tough neighborhood where growing up didn’t feel safe. Her parents, originally from Puerto Rico, dreamed of something different for their family, something rooted in closeness, culture, and community. When Angela was seven years old, they made a life-changing decision to move back to Puerto Rico.
They settled in Guayama, a city a little bigger than Aberdeen, where the rhythm of life felt warmer in every sense of the word. The beach was just five minutes away, and even closer were the people who mattered most. Angela grew up surrounded by grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins she spent nearly every day with. “We were always together,” she says, smiling at the memory.
As a kid, Angela loved to dance and create art, but she was also a dedicated student who genuinely loved school. Angela says she “danced a lot, but she also studied a lot.” That discipline carried her through high school and into college at Interamericana University, where she chose to study chemistry.
While still in college, Angela began working at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, eager to get a head start. She started as a cleaner, then became a receptionist. After graduating, she moved into manufacturing and was eventually promoted to quality control. It was steady, meaningful work, and she stayed with the company for 15 years.
Angela married shortly after high school and began raising a family. She worked hard to build a secure future for her children, believing deeply in stability, education, and doing your best — values that had shaped her own life.
Then, everything changed.
Angela began experiencing serious health problems. Doctors eventually diagnosed her with a painful degenerative disease affecting her vertebrae. The news was devastating. She was told that continuing to work could eventually leave her in a wheelchair. For someone who had always pushed forward, planned ahead, and taken pride in providing for her family, it was crushing.
But even in grief and uncertainty, Angela chose optimism.
Due to her medical needs, Angela Ramos moved to the United States after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017. She started practicing her English at Cornerstones Career Learning Center, where she continues to volunteer to this day.
She stayed home and focused on raising her children, who were seven and nine at the time. She poured her energy into volunteering, mentoring teens, and helping neighbors whenever she could. Giving back helped her stay grounded, connected, and hopeful, even as her health declined.
In 2017, life brought another unimaginable challenge.
Hurricane Maria, a catastrophic Category 5 storm, tore through Puerto Rico, devastating the island. It was the height of the hot season, and electricity was cut across the entire island. By then, Angela relied on an oxygen machine that needed to be charged every few days. With no power, she had to travel to a hospital running on a generator just to keep her machine functioning.
Without air conditioning, sleeping indoors became unbearable. Many nights, Angela slept outside in her yard trying to escape the suffocating heat. Knowing their mother lived under these conditions was more than her sons could bear. Both her sons had already moved to South Dakota for work opportunities and were finding a good life in Aberdeen. They urged her to make the move as well.
“Moving to South Dakota was a big leap for me. Overall, it has been a real adventure and has turned out to be a positive move.” – Angela Ramos, community volunteer
Leaving Puerto Rico meant leaving everything she had ever known. But in October 2017, surrounded by falling leaves and crisp air, Angela arrived in Aberdeen. Her sons set up her home and took loving care of her, determined to give her safety, comfort, and peace of mind. Even through the coldest winters, Angela says the move was worth it.
She knew that to truly build a life here, she needed to strengthen her English. So she signed up for language classes at Cornerstones Career Learning Center. True to who she has always been, Angela was a focused, serious student. She learned quickly, and before long, she found herself helping others in the classroom.
When Cornerstones asked if she would like to become a regular volunteer, her answer was an enthusiastic yes.
Volunteering gave Angela something invaluable: purpose. It helped her stay positive through her illness and reminded her that she still had so much to offer. Her dedication did not go unnoticed. In 2025, Angela received the Distinguished Award of Merit Volunteer of the Year from the South Dakota Association for Lifelong Learning. For the staff at Cornerstones, it was a proud moment. For Angela, it meant something even deeper. She felt seen.
Angela Ramos holds her 2025 SDALL Distinguished Award of Merit after being recognized as Volunteer of the Year for her dedication to serving the Aberdeen community.
Today, Angela continues to volunteer, but she is also fully embracing her favorite role yet: grandma. Like any proud grandmother, Angela will happily pull out her phone and show you photo after photo of her grandkids, her joy impossible to miss.
From Angela, “Moving to South Dakota was a big leap for me. Overall, it has been a real adventure and has turned out to be a positive move. I love Aberdeen. The people are friendly and kind. I love giving back to the community which so warmly welcomed me. I am deeply grateful to Cornerstones and to Aberdeen for generously taking me and my family into their arms. Thank you (Gracias).”
With family close by, friendships rooted in kindness, and a purpose that keeps her moving forward, Angela Ramos has made Aberdeen her home. And in doing so, she has quietly shown everyone around her what strength, grace, and hope truly look like. //
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