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Ramona in her own words… Who is Ramona Gray? If I asked myself that question three times, I'm sure I'd get three different answers. And that is the beauty of being me; there are so many parts that make up the sum of me. Each part is able to stand alone, yet when all are combined they make the person, the woman I am. I am the product of a single parent family. My mother had me when she was 18 years old in a time when teenage pregnancy was not as widespread or widely accepted as it is today, so I am grateful for the fact that I was even brought into this world. I thank God for that. I know it was all a part of His plan. Having fled his responsibility, my father has never really played any significantly positive roll in my life. My mother was my best friend. She raised me to be very independent. She always told me I could do anything, that whatever I did to be the best and that there was no substitute for hard work. I loved school. I loved learning. I don't think I missed more than 15 days of school in 12 years. I was both a jock and a scholar. I did everything: ran track, martial arts, basketball, cheerleading, softball and student leadership positions, all while keeping my grades up and eventually, in 1989, graduating with honors and an academic scholarship to Howard University. It was truly a blessing because I knew there was no way my mother could afford to send me to school. Our faith saw us through. I always wanted to be a doctor, to save people. My real dream was to save the world by curing all the worst diseases. My mom provided positive reinforcement by giving me chemistry sets from the time I was in elementary school throughout high school. I'd do all the experiments in the book provided, but then I'd make up my own. I enjoyed making things, discovering things, and creating things. Working a summer as a candy striper convinced me that I was too emotional to become a doctor, so I declared chemistry as my major during my freshmen year in college. I'd always been told that these would be the best year of my life, so I took advantage of every minute. I had internships every summer, I learned all I could, pledged a community service oriented sorority, made life-long friends, played in the band, traveled and had lots of fun. When I finally stopped to take a breath, over seven years had gone by and I had not only obtained my Bachelors degree in Chemistry but had survived the research and writing and defense of a Master's thesis. In 1997, I moved to New Jersey, without knowing anyone. I had been presented with a great employment opportunity that I just couldn't turn down. Even though I am the only African American in my group and only 1 of 3 women, I love my job as a Staff Chemist at Merck & Co., Inc. Since moving I've met people who like to do the same fun and exciting things I do: skydiving, paintball, working out, bike riding, roller blading, motorcycles and things I'd love to try like white water rafting and rock climbing. Why talk about doing something when you could actually be doing it? I love life and plan to live it to the fullest extent. When all is said and done I don't want to have any regrets. With the support of family and friends, there's nothing I can't do!
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