The Amazing Women of TJ: Nayramis Rodriguez-Logo

The month is March, which means it’s Women’s History Month! This March, we celebrate many of the different women all around the world who have pioneered and become very successful in their respective fields.
I interviewed Nayramis Paris Rodriguez-Lugo and sat down with her to have a detailed conversation about her accomplishments and the busy schedule she has at 15 years old.

Nayramis is a dancer on the Patriettes, a dancer in Latin Dance Club, a dancer in AFA, a runner on spring track, and finally a gymnast. She is originally from Naguabo, Puerto Rico, but following devastating Hurricane Maria, she moved alongside her family here to Frederick in 2017. She has gone through many struggles in her 15 years of life, which is why she is being celebrated and recognized for women’s history month for her resilience, and dedication to working hard and being successful and one of the best in whatever she sets her mind to.

“Ever since I was a small child in Puerto Rico, having fun is what drew me to dancing. Being able to let loose and improvise to music makes dance fun to me. As I got older, a lot of people motivate me like family, coaches, teachers, you and few others as well. They are always there for me whenever I need them in bad and good situations and I am very grateful for them to be in my life, without them I would not be doing the things I have accomplished.” She said with a smile on her face.

“Last summer, I tried out to be a Patriette because I thought being on a dance team for the school would be fun and honestly I am so happy to be a Patriette. Practice may be early in the morning but the group is always ready to work and I love that. I have always wanted to work and get things done no matter what. For me, the very best
moments being a Patriette is being able to perform in front of so many people, whether it’s at a football game or basketball game and getting every single one of them excited for our performance, so I very much love it a lot.

“In my freshman year, I was in a regular elective dance class and my teacher talked to me about the AFA program and asked if it was something that I was interested in, so I auditioned and I got in so in my mind I was like, “let’s give it a try.” I am glad that I did, I have so much fun in AFA. I love spending all morning in the dance studio and
love having the chance to dance to such amazing dancers and a great teacher. My best moment in AFA so far is doing my solo performance of “Hurricane”. As a first year student in AFA, I was able to explore who I was as an artist, write my artist statement, record my voice and create my first ever dance solo based solely on my words. I am
very grateful for that opportunity and to be able to show off that performance and express myself the way that I wanted to in front of friends and family who were there in support of me. I have to thank my teacher Ms. Weigelt for giving me that opportunity as well.”

“A lot of people ask me, especially my friends, how I am able to keep up with the very busy schedule that I have.” She said whilst giggling. “I have AFA, Patriettes, Latin Dance Club and now Spring Track, and that is only in-school activities. I also compete in my main sport of gymnastics and I just competed out of state with my gym against other gyms in Georgia and South Carolina in February. I love being very active, I really dislike just sitting at home and doing nothing. I love just staying in shape and being able to do the things I want to do. I love trying to go into new
environments and such so I constantly have to keep a calendar on what days and what times throughout the day, whether I have gymnastics, or what days I have Latin dance club practice, or Patriettes and my days can be very long, sometimes I was waking up at around 5 AM and I would not be getting home until 9-10 PM. I feel it makes me stronger and I have gotten used to being busy. Next year, I hope to be in all of those activities. Like I said, I love keeping my calendar organized and busy so I don’t stay at home, and I love participating in every single one of them.”