She is a self-described “thrill-seeker.”
And after graduation from Auburn Mountainview High School and Green River College, Emily Ramey has already keyed up her next adventure.
Next month, Ramey heads to Australia for a six-month discipleship training program through Youth With A Mission. There she will receive training through the first half of the experience, with outreach work — entailing the delivery of medical supplies and the rebuilding of communities — to follow.
“There’s lots of islands just around where we’re at that have been hit really hard by tsunamis and things like that,” she said.
Ramey raised $8,000 to subsidize her journey.
“At first, I was like, ‘There’s no way. This is crazy,’ ” she said. “It has been kind of a miracle to see how generous people are. That’s been such a blessing for me to have all that was raised so I don’t have to pay out of pocket for any of it.”
Ramey said she entered Auburn Mountainview as a freshman with the goal of becoming a millionaire. But her mindset changed when she got involved with her church and began learning about opportunities to help others. During the last school year, Ramey tutored refugees in her church on many Tuesdays, with lessons ranging from English to dance. Her work in Australia is to be an extension of that.
“I wanted to travel, and I wanted to pursue something in Bible school … with the purpose of helping people,” she said.
It is just the latest adventure for Ramey. After middle school, she scoured through scores of activities at Auburn Mountainview before settling on track and field. She found the pole vault particularly intriguing.
“It just seemed like something really, really exciting and fun to do,” she said. “Something different. I’ve always kind of been a little bit of a thrill seeker with zip lines and things like that.”
But unlike the adrenaline fuel of a zipline, or soaring through the curves and inclines of a rollercoaster, Ramey did not experience instant gratification via the pole vault. She struggled with the event, finding the challenge even more difficult when she did not have a female teammate in the event to commiserate with early on.
“It’s one of the more difficult sports, mentally, because you always end on a failure,” Ramey said. “That one and high jump. With pole vaulting, you go until you fail. You have to be able to get back up and go again.”
Her breakthrough came as a junior when she eclipsed the 8-foot, 9-inch bar during the sub-district meet to best Kendra Alexson’s school record set in 2009.
“She’s typical of a lot of track kids,” said Kent Rodseth, who works with the school’s jumpers. “She’s a great student. (Her success is) kind of a testament to who she is as a student and as an athlete.”
This season, that mark fell when Ramey cleared 9 feet on May 5 against Lakes. She then won the sub-district meet at 9-6 during the May 13 sub-district meet in Sumner. Her season ended a week later at the district meet, but Ramey is hopeful that will not be her last experience in the event.
After she returns from Australia, Ramey is set to enroll at Pacific Lutheran University. She said she has been in correspondence with the Lutes’ coaching staff.
“That would be great to keep going with that,” Ramey said. “It’s something I really enjoy doing and if I have the option to do that for a couple more years, then why not?”
Ramey, who has maintained a 3.93 grade-point average at Auburn Mountainview, will enter PLU as a junior. She initially thought about pursuing a nursing degree, but now plans to earn her bachelor’s in English and then a master’s degree in education.
The change of plans, Ramey said, relates to her work with refugee families.
“I know there’s lots of options to teach English abroad,” she said.
Or, she might return home with an eye toward teaching in a traditional setting.
“I really love the middle-school age,” she said. “It’s just a rough age for everybody, and that’s one thing that really draws me to it.
“That’s the time when we need encouragement.”
One that just may channel inspiration toward a new adventure.
