The newest Dean’s Assistant, Coach Roy Ramos, was welcomed with a tight knit-community feeling at West Chicago Community High School.
Ramos started as a basketball coach when he came to West Chicago “last winter”. Before that, he had a gap year to sit down and think about what he wanted to do. He made the decision to come to West Chicago because he wanted to settle down with his wife at their new home and start a family – opportunities coaching and teaching at West Chicago was able to give him.
Ramos is now the study hall teacher here at West Chicago, and he is there to check on students, do grade checks, check attendance. He helps the underclassmen stay organized, and find the right sources. But he does not want to just be seen as a “study hall teacher,” he wants to be seen as a resource for everyone.
“Everybody just kind of seemed to carry themselves in a certain way, like, very humble way and very friendly manner,”Ramos said. “I’m willing and happy to help. I mean, it actually makes the day so much better for me, like more fulfilling and rewarding.”
Ramos coached at Roosevelt University which is in the city, but before he coached at Illinois Institute of Technology. He served in an AAU, a travel basketball program, for 17 years.
He became the boys’ Head Varsity basketball coach at WEGO, and is going on his second year. His favorite memory of being here at WEGO was when the Varsity team won their first game against Larkin with a buzzer beater.
“And it felt good for me, because I could see how like, happy everybody was. And the locker room was fun. The bus ride was fun. I mean, you would have thought we won, like, the state championship, yeah, and we beat Larkin,” Ramos said.
He enjoys the moments being there for students, as it makes the time go by faster. He wants students to feel comfortable to ask for help – on any subject except math. Students have already found Ramos’ presence and guidance helpful.
“Playing for Coach Roy has been really enjoyable even when times were hard, that’s just because it always felt like he cared most about winning and I think that’s most important,” senior Gavin Dyer said.