SCRANTON, Pa. — Gabe Ramos never planned on going to Notre Dame, let alone be one of the chosen few, but as luck would have it, not only is the North Pocono grad now an anthropology and pre-med major at Notre Dame, he’s one of the four Leprechauns this year. Because of COVID, the 20-year-old hasn’t donned the uniform just yet, but it’s waiting for him in South Bend, and he’s scheduled to split the spring semester.
”Because of COVID, I actually had very little experience being the Leprechaun so far," Ramos said. "Fortunately enough, because we are cheerleaders, we’ve gotten to cheer at a lot of games and I’m super, super, super excited to actually get to put on the green suit and really get to go out there and be my own Leprechaun."
Until then, Ramos is spending time with his family at his home in Covington Township, but this holiday season, he’s reminded that the role of the Leprechaun took on new meaning this year.
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"Given how tumultuous and trying the times are right now, being able to be around for members of the Notre Dame community and for the community at large, trying to just bring an ounce or a shred of joy to somebody’s day, just by being myself, by being excited about where I am, that’s really my goal every day is to try and just bring a little bit of joy to somebody’s life," Ramos said. "Seeing a smile is my favorite thing, which is a little hard right now. So, while I might not be able to see the fruits of that labor, necessarily right? Because it’s caught behind a mask, it’s really beautiful to me."
Ramos says he’s just the second or third Latino Leprechaun in school history, and it was his NEPA roots that inspired him to try out, proving you don’t need to be Irish to be a Leprechaun.
"Not only a huge blessing to the first Scranton-born Leprechaun, but it is I think an even bigger blessing to be able to show people like me that Irish is not a look, that it’s a mindset," Ramos explained. "There’s not so much that separates the story of Irish immigrants from Latino immigrants in NEPA or anywhere in the United States because it’s a real story of grit. It’s a story of trying and failing and pushing past fear. It’s about a story of fight and that’s really what embodies the Fighting Irish."