Coffee with Kira
Meet Kira Ramos.
Social handle: @kiraleeramos
Hometown: Honolulu, Hawai‘i
Must-have jewelry accessory: Watch, bead bracelet (made by the best obvi—Clemaeve), pearl bangle
Three things you never leave the house without: Phone, wallet, reusable bag
Favorite weekend activity: Getting a nice long run in
Currently reading: Happy Place by Emily Henry
Three words to describe yourself: Shy at first
First things first, what is your favorite coffee shop?
Local Joe in Honolulu, Hawai‘i
What does the perfect cup of coffee look like for you?
A matcha latte!
In a nutshell, what has your professional journey looked like?
After years of interning, I got my master’s degree and am now a full-time environmental planner (how weird is that?!). Reflecting on my journey, I’m really grateful for the people who supported and helped me hit this milestone in my life.
What is your Master’s degree and what was your experience like continuing your education?
I have my master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning.
Getting a Master’s Degree is no walk in the park. I truly thought school would kind of just continue from undergrad to grad school but grad school challenged me to work hard. I thought I worked hard in undergrad but I was truly put to work in grad school. Grad school showed me my potential and taught me to believe in myself.
Can you tell us more about environmental planning? Why did you choose a career in it?
Environmental Planning is a practice that covers a wide range of disciplines. Environmental planning assesses and analyzes a certain land use in a specific area and determines whether there will be environmental, social, or economic impacts with the proposed usage. Land use planners are always looking at how people interact with the built environment and vice versa and are trying to assess whether any new proposed land usage would negatively impact the current state of the built environment.
I took a sociology course in undergrad and that’s when I became interested in how we as humans socially interact with one another and how the built environment shapes how we interact with each other. Then, I got extremely lucky and was provided an opportunity to intern with environmental planners and since then I’ve stuck with it.
What is one way to help our environment that people can incorporate into their daily lives?
Be mindful of others.
Outside of your professional career, how do you enjoy spending your time?
I enjoy dancing hula, going to the beach, and spending time with the people I love.
I remember when we first met in hula, grad school was something we bonded over. I had just finished my Master’s program while you were working to get into grad school. I am always in awe of anyone who can balance hula while going to school and working. How do you balance your professional career and hula?
I would definitely not be able to balance life in general without my family. They continue to support me in whatever I am doing and they are my backbone. I would not be able to do any of this without them.
What is your favorite affirmation or quote?
Trust the process.
That is one of my favorite things you tell me—it works in so many ways. Is there anything you’d tell your younger self?
Keep working hard. You can do anything you put your mind to. Dream big.
