Estela @ Oath Ceremony
On Saturday, April 12, 2025, ChesMRC’s longtime employee, Estela Ramirez Ulloa, received her official US Citizenship status.
Estela’s journey to citizenship started over 25 years ago when she arrived in the United States from Honduras at the age of 14 with her 7-year old brother and began her life in Easton, Maryland. Estela grew up in a lively household in San Pedro Sula, Honduras with six other children, including siblings and cousins. Because their parents all worked in the United States, the children were cared for by their grandmother, “Mami Tomi”, the heart and soul of the home. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch destroyed much of Honduras, including Estela’s family farm, and her aunt, who helped manage the farm and the household with her grandmother, became terminally ill. Estela’s grandmother had to become a full-time caregiver to her aunt and could no longer care for the overcrowded household on her own. Relatives decided Estela and her brother would have to go live in the US with their mother whom she hadn’t seen in ten years.
Upon arrival, Estela enrolled t at Easton High School where she thrived and proudly graduated in 2005. She wanted to continue onto college, but was unable to obtain any kind of financial aid because she was undocumented. She went to work and several years later became the mother of two beautiful girls. She always had concerns about her status, and feared being separated from her two American-born daughters.
Estela & Her Daughter Natalia
In 2014, ChesMRC came to know Estela through the Afterschool Program where she volunteered to help parents with ESL classes. Upon hearing her story, ChesMRC offered its services, and she was enrolled in the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program, which allowed her temporary protection and authorization to legally work in the United States.
ChesMRC hired Estela full time in 2015 as the Hispanic Outreach Coordinator. She quickly worked her way to becoming Assistant Director and was instrumental over the years in growing and guiding ChesMRC to where it is today. Estela was still concerned that DACA was temporary and that it often threatened cancellation with changing administrations. In 2017 a ChesMRC board member, who was also an immigration attorney, reviewed Estela’s case and found a pathway to citizenship in her file. ChesMRC agreed to sponsor her and Estela received her green card in 2019 and began the necessary paperwork to apply for full citizenship, which she was finally awarded this month.
Today, Estela serves as ChesMRC’s Health Program Manager and uses her own life experiences to relate to the clients she works for, helping to navigate them through the complicated health systems in place. She is a grateful “Dreamer” working with the same empathy and determination she learned from her grandmother and continues her family’s tradition of “welcoming the stranger” dedicated to sharing the blessings she has been given in her life. Now, with her US Citizenship status, she can continue to help guide those that desperately need it without any fear of having her status removed or terminated. She is proof that with dedication, hard work, patience, and good spirits, you can achieve what many say is impossible. ChesMRC is honored to have been a part of this journey with Estela and would not be where it is today without her. She truly makes our community, our organization, and this country a healthier and more beautiful place. Congratulations Estela!