Women Leading Change: This RRCC Student Wants to Build Houses that Inspire Her Girls
Angie Ramirez says Red Rocks Community College has supported her in every step.
March 03, 2026
Angie Ramirez was in sixth grade the first time she remembers feeling anxiety about the state of the world.
It was after watching Planet Earth, a documentary miniseries about wildlife habitats, at school. She also remembers other students didn’t seem to be as concerned.
“I remember thinking, this is getting bad,’” Angie said.
That was when her passion for helping the Earth started. Today, Angie is working on her Bachelor of Applied Science in Business degree from Red Rocks Community College. Simultaneously she is getting her business of building sustainable houses off the ground. Her goal is to have the education and credential from RRCC help make her business a success.
“Everything I’ve gone through has led me to this point to feel like we can do this for people. We can do this for the planet,” Angie said.
This month as we celebrate Women’s History Month, the National Women’s History Alliance selected a focus this year on “Women Shaping a Sustainable Future.” Angie is one of many women at RRCC that we could celebrate who are working to shape a sustainable future – and hoping to inspire others to do more too.
“I want everyone to just try, to not be afraid to do it,” Angie said. “Putting yourself out there and trying to make the world better, that’s all you can really ask for.”
Angie grew up watching her dad, a master carpenter and contractor, work on homes and businesses for others. She always knew she would build her own home one day.
Living in Colorado, Angie saw that the risk of wildfires grew each year and felt like there should be something she could do about it.
As she researched building materials and practices, she designed a home that should be both sustainable and safer in natural disasters. One key is a seamless Galvalume roof which is energy efficient, long-lasting and can act like a shield in a fire, she said, but also allows for the collection of rainwater.
Another key in Angie’s design is to submerge two-thirds of the home underground.
But she wanted to share her designs with others. So, she came up with a business, Angie & Daughters Industries, and plans to build sustainable and affordable homes that would be better for the environment.
Left to Right: Luke Haener, Matt Sweeney, Dr. Jamal Bowen, Adam Beckett, Angie Ramirez
(Photo by Ben Vena, RRCC)
With help from professors and the Entrepreneur Center at the RRCC campus, she refined her business plan. In December, she presented her idea in a pitch competition on campus and earned first place, along with some seed money that is going toward the purchase of land for the first home she will build.
The win was an encouraging moment for her. Angie has had setbacks as well, but she doesn’t get discouraged because she’s always found the support to help her keep going at Red Rocks Community College.
When she had her now 6-year-old daughter, during her second semester of college, she needed a place where she could pump on campus. When she mentioned to a professor that she didn’t know where she would go, the next day school leaders found her a room. Her husband worked at Home Depot at the time and was able to get them to donate a fridge for the room where she could store the breast milk.
When COVID made everyone move to online learning, Angie took a break from school. Now, she’s back, and eager to show her daughters that they can accomplish anything.
The Mother’s Room is still on campus, and it’s one of many reasons she tells everyone about RRCC.
“They gave me immediate support, I didn’t feel like I was a burden at all,” Angie said. “That’s why I love the school so much.”
Angie’s husband and one of her cousins are enrolled at RRCC now too.
But it’s her daughters, ages 3, 6, and 11, who she most wants to inspire someday. They are the reason she pushed herself to return to RRCC to finish her bachelor’s degree in business administration. This May she’ll walk at graduation to celebrate completing her associate degree, but she’ll keep coming to school in the fall to work toward the bachelor’s degree.
“I had to show them that you can’t leave something this important unfinished, that reaching your goals is important,” Angie said. “I’m an extremely large supporter of recognizing women’s history. I teach my daughters a lot about women’s achievements. I want them to be the next generation of sisterhood.”