Springdale's Ruiz Helps Kids Like Him Get To College

Courtesy Photo Roman Ruiz will move to Philadelphia on a research fellowship to study for a doctoral degree in higher education at the University of Pennsylvania. His study will focus on higher education and extending access to students from low-income families — students like him.
Courtesy Photo Roman Ruiz will move to Philadelphia on a research fellowship to study for a doctoral degree in higher education at the University of Pennsylvania. His study will focus on higher education and extending access to students from low-income families — students like him.

"Don't be afraid to dream. You can't outgrow yourself or outlearn yourself. Success is determined individually, person by person. There's no harm in dreaming. There's no harm in trying."

Roman Ruiz, no doubt, will repeat these words of wisdom next week to sophomores at Springdale High School. Then he moves to Philadelphia on a research fellowship to study for a doctoral degree in higher education at the University of Pennsylvania. His study will focus on higher education and extending access to students from first-generation and low-income families -- students like him. Ruiz was the first in his family to even attend college.

Ruiz, 30, was born in Fountain Valley, Orange County, Calif. He landed in Springdale in 1992, in time for third grade at Parson Hills Elementary School. Then, he attended J.O. Kelly Middle School, Southwest Junior High School and graduated from Springdale High School.

Ruiz's grandmother, the late Christine Herbert, raised him and his two older brothers. Times were tough, Ruiz admitted, with the family receiving government assistance and the children eating meals at school thanks to the federal free- and reduced-price lunch program.

"The biggest thing I got from her was to work hard," Ruiz said of his grandmother. "Any work ethic or grit you might see in me, I got from my grandmother. She waitressed for 30 years and worked in a factory, basically until she died, to make sure I succeeded.

"She told me I only had to do two things in life: Wake up everyday, and try. Everyday I try to do more. I was inspired to keep going with her vision for me."

Herbert died in 2008, during Ruiz's second year of graduate school. "Since then, I've been on my own to forge my own path. And there's a learning curve," he said. "She told me, 'You either had to sink or swim,' and I've done quite a bit of swimming since then."

Although Ruiz sat atop in his high school graduating class, with numerous Advanced Placement classes under his belt preparing him for college, he had a different college expectation than his classmates. "I hadn't visited colleges. I hadn't researched colleges. I didn't know anything," he said. "Everything seemed like a hassle."

In swooped some of the many educators who recognized the talent in Ruiz and helped him on his way. Ruiz played clarinet for the Springdale High School band. He earned a chair in the All-State Choir, attended summer band camp at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville and enjoyed free music lessons there with music professor Kelly Johnson.

Johnson called Ruiz during his senior year in high school, asking him to audition for the college music program. Because he had no transportation, his high school band director Pat Ellison "came to my house at 6:30 in the morning and drove me to Russellville," he recalled.

"They gave me a full tuition scholarship on the spot," Ruiz said. "And they saw my ACT scores and (grade-point average), and gave me a full academic scholarship room and board. So that doesn't just happen, does it?"

Ruiz earned his undergraduate degree in music education, but knew he wanted to work at the college level. He earned a master's degree in music from Arizona State University. He still had the dream of working at the college level, but he wasn't so sure about music. He returned to Arkansas and completed a master's degree in higher education at the University of Arkansas.

Wednesday was Ruiz's last day as an academic counselor for students in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the university, which helped him decide his future. He also worked with the university and Springdale schools through the federal TRIO program, holding monthly workshops and counseling for students like him, who might have come from a low-income or first-generation family.

Ruiz and SHS counselor Paula DeBusk talked monthly with kids from middle school to high school about college applications, application essays, financial aid, career paths, majors ...

"Every parent typically wants something more for their child, but they don't know how to navigate the (higher-education) system," he said.

Ruiz pointed out he, like many of these students, was "under-matched" -- not attending the academically challenging programs his talent would allow.

"I attended the only college I'd ever visited, and that's where Pat Ellison went to school," Ruiz illustrated. "I went to school in Arizona because Dr. Johnson went there. Now, I loved it, and it was a great experience, and it inspired me to continue studying music.

"I had been in music so long, I knew how to be a band director. But I didn't know how to be a higher-education analyst researcher of policy. I didn't know the big picture.

"In hindsight, I don't know how I even made it through the system," Ruiz continued. "There was no way I could have planned this path. But I worked hard every day. Every paper I wrote, I wanted it to be my best. Every time I volunteered, I wanted to be the best volunteer I could. I knew that excellence to whatever I did was going to pay off."

During his master's studies, Ruiz earned permission to enroll in a doctoral-level research class taught by Kate Mamiseishvili. She wrote on one of his papers: "Roman, you really need to earn a doctorate, even if it's not here."

"So I started thinking, 'Maybe I can do it,'" Ruiz said. "I thought, why not get a terminal degree? The highest degree possible?"

So, he started asking questions. Higher-education faculty members Mamiseishvili and Michael Hevel answered.

"This is the first time I've ever exercised choice," Ruiz said.

Ruiz spent about a year researching his options. First, he applied to three schools with affordable application fees. (Harvard University was $120, on top of $1,200 for the Graduate Record Examination.) Wanting a higher score on the GRE, he studied every day for three months and scored above the average student applying for admittance to Ivy League schools.

Ruiz applied to seven schools -- state, private, Ivy League -- across the country, looking for a "good fit," values and beliefs aligned with his own.

A Pell Grant and various scholarships put Ruiz through college and led him to his unofficial position as role model and advocate.

"I was fortunate to have full funding, but I'm very atypical from most college students," he said. "The No. 1 barrier to college is income -- and college also is becoming inaccessible for many middle-class families.

"But there are a lot of things state and federal governments can do to ensure low-income students can attend college and to ensure students attend institutions they deserve to attend."

NW News on 07/24/2014

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