A group of Cathedral graduates wanted to do something for the math teacher who inspired them to be better men. They established an endowed fund in the name of Luz Ulrickson so that her legacy would live on through scholarships for well-deserving young students who could not otherwise afford to attend Cathedral High School.
Luz Ramos was born on May 24, 1926 in Catbalogan, Philippines. The oldest of 8 children, she began her lifelong dedication to taking care of others at a very young age. In 1941, when Luz was in high school, the Japanese invaded the Philippines and there was a 2-year period when Luz and her family hid in an underground building during the war. She was often in charge of caring for her siblings during this time. Luz would return to school and eventually graduate from high school and college, after which she put 5 of her siblings through college and spent years as a Catholic missionary in Pakistan. In order to support her brothers and sisters and ensure her siblings would earn their college degrees, Luz worked as a tutor in the mornings, taught school during the day, and worked in the family store in the evenings.
It was during her time at university, where Luz was one of two female engineering students, that she was drawn to education and changed her major. Luz arrived in College Station, Texas in 1964 to work on a Master’s Degree in Physics. It was during a visit to El Paso, where she had relatives, that she met Robert Ulrickson. Luz and Bob got married on July 24 of that year and began teaching at Cathedral High School.
During all of her years at Cathedral, Luz always went above and beyond for her “boys”. She held tutoring sessions on the weekends in her home and cooked for the students to make sure they could enjoy a hot meal while they were studying. Her love of Cathedral and its students spanned five decades and Luz continues to tutor in the early morning and into the afternoon, if needed. Even past the young age of 95, Luz Ulrickson still had a passion for helping her students.
The Catholic Foundation hosted a surprise reception for Mrs. Ulrickson on Saturday, October 7 on the Cathedral High School Porras Patio to celebrate the new fund.