Last Updated:11:16 AM EST 10/4/07 Section: Lifestyles

Life hasn't always been the easiest for Brenda Ramirez, the new cashier at Bon Appétit, but you wouldn't be able to tell by the beautiful smile on her face.

Ramirez was raised by a single mom in Brooklyn, N. Y. Unlike others, her move to Rochester wasn't for the most positive reasons: she was in an abusive relationship.

"I almost lost my life," Ramirez says. She chose to move to Rochester because her father was living in the area.

Although her life was hard, Ramirez has an amazing outlook.

"If there's nothing you can do about it, you just have to be positive. I went through something bad, but I have a positive life now. People can go through it."

She has learned from her experiences and is open to sharing to help others learn as well.

"What you see is what you get - I'm not putting a smile on for the boss," Ramirez said. "If you saw me on the street, I would act the same."

This positive attitude has certainly helped Ramirez. Shortly after she moved to Rochester, she met her "gorgeous husband" Manny, a manager at Bon Appetit. They now have two sons, Emmanuel, 8, and Elijah, 4, and have been married for six years.

"We're a crazy family, we love to laugh, and we love to have fun," she says the family especially enjoys watching movies and playing video games together. "Even though I'm 30 and a woman, I'm very good at video games," she adds with a laugh.

Her two boys are the reason that Ramirez, who has previously worked as certified medical assistant, came to Bon Appetit.

"I needed accommodating hours for the kids," she says, and the job does have the plus of getting to see her husband "from behind, because he is working so hard, it is kind of nice to see him."

She says that Manny's hours could be difficult for the family, but he does know how to balance job time.

Ramirez, who has been working at Bon Appetit for three weeks now, was originally apprehensive about the job.

"People are hesitant because [Manny] is the manager, but, you know, we are humans, we tend to judge sometimes," Ramirez said.

However, all of her apprehension left on her first day. "It sounds corny, but all that little negativity I had inside went away," Ramirez said. "The students look like they have a bad day, and you talk to them. You smile, you're conversing."

According to Ramirez, she has never seen any student who wasn't nice.

"It feels like home, comfortable," she says, and if she could go back a couple years, she would come here.

Ramirez has been proving herself as a "good worker," and she is "doing what [she] has to do for the position." Ramirez's outlook on life is a positive addition to the St. John Fisher College family, so if you haven't yet, venture through Ramirez's line during lunch at Bon Appetit - she'll greet you with a warm smile.

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