Celebrating the Graduating Class of 2025: Ramya Mabry

The University of San Diego would like to congratulate all of our wonderful students who are graduating this year. We will be spotlighting students from across campus, sharing their educational journeys leading up to commencement.

This weekend, Ramya Mabry will walk across the stage to get her diploma for a master's in social innovation (MASI) from the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies.

Mabry came to USD last fall as an HBCU Changemaker Fellow, and in just nine months she has had a prolific impact on campus.

In addition to pursuing her master's degree, Mabry has served as a program lead at the Changemaker Hub, overseeing two volunteer programs, and competed in the Fowler Business Concept Challenge, where she and a friend launched a venture called Nourishing Our World Again (NOWA).

All of these activities have two things in common -- Mabry's drive to care for others, and her love of food.

Mabry comes from Greenville, North Carolina, a region that she classifies as a food desert.

"Greenville is a place where we have grocery stores around, but there's also pockets where you can go 10 miles without seeing one at all," she said. "So you can fall into this area where you're like 'How am I going to get food today?' which I don't think is a question people should be asking."

Through the Changemaker Hub, Mabry helps organize programs with Bayside Community Center and PATH San Diego.

With Bayside, she and other students work to gather produce and deliver them to low-income residents of Linda Vista, where fresh, affordable produce can be difficult to come by.

Then each Saturday at PATH, she and a group of students buy groceries and cook and serve brunch to residents who've experienced homelessness.

Mabry says she finds fulfillment in giving back, and enjoys doing it with others.

"I'm definitely someone who gets energized by being around people," she said. "When I volunteer, I feel very connected to the people I'm around because we could be doing anything else, but yet we all chose to be here."

Finally, NOWA combines her passion for improving people's access to healthy food and what she's learned about social innovation.

NOWA is an on-demand food delivery service that makes fresh, nutritious food accessible to underserved communities by repurposing surplus food from local farms, restaurants, and grocery stores.

It has been a lot for Mabry to take on in one academic year, but at every event you'll see her with a smile. She says she's inspired by the women in her life that have been pillars of their community, and wants to do as much as she can with the time she has.

"My grandma always told me 'Do you' and I think this is me doing me," Mabry said. "You only get one life. Why not make the most of it?"