A “Rock the Q” poster is tacked to a wall; Q referring to Qualcomm Stadium, where the Aztec Football team plays home games. Ruiz turns to it and explains it’s the kickoff tailgate mantra encouraging Aztecs to pack the stadium this fall.
“We have a tough schedule but I like it because if we win a lot of games that’s going to generate the hype,” Ruiz said.
Passion for Sports
Sports is a fitting passion for Ruiz because one of his roles is to be liaison between A.S. and the SDSU Athletics Department. A self-described ESPN junkie, Ruiz follows the NFL, NCAA, EPL, MLS and a myriad of other leagues. He’s a Chargers fan and he played soccer when he was younger.
San Diego State sports: “I didn’t miss a basketball game last year,” Ruiz said. He added he tried not to miss any home football games either. When the executive officer election results were announced at Scripps Cottage last spring, he was at a basketball game, not on campus. A.S. President Cody Barbo, his running mate, called him to relay the good news.
Being Greek always helps
Much has been made of Ruiz’s lack of experience in A.S., but he has a long history of leadership dating back to his sixth grade student body presidency.
“My senior year (of high school) I actually lost my election. I ran for vice president of the school and I lost so this is redemption,” he said.
Last year he served on SDSU’s facilities and external affairs board. He was the president of his fraternity and before that he served as its social chair.
After his SAE presidency ended, Barbo pulled him aside and suggested he run for A.S. executive vice president.
“He said, ‘I really want you to run as my right-hand man.’ I wasn’t sure because I didn’t have any experience but he said ‘Your experience will translate. If you can handle a house of 150 college guys I think A.S. should be a cakewalk for you.’”
There’s no word on whether or not it’s been a cakewalk, but Ruiz believes his experience has helped.
“The lessons you learn when mentoring younger students, or being caught up with a tough decision on what to spend money on — it actually did translate pretty well,” he said.
Most surprising about his job so far
“It’s fascinating to see how many people are actually die-hard Aztecs,” Ruiz said. “I rub elbows with a lot of really prominent alumni; it’s my job to be the student voice to them. These people are crazy about the red and black. People really do care about this university and will go to extraordinary lengths to make sure it moves forward. It’s been really cool to see.”
Future plans: He doesn’t plan to think about it until spring, but he’s been kicking around the idea of going to law school or getting his MBA.
“As a kid I was always really into business,” Ruiz recalled. “In fifth grade I got suspended for selling Pokémon cards on campus. Kids were losing their lunch money to buy cards so the principal told me to stop, but I didn’t because I was making pretty good money for a fifth grader! I was taking lunch tickets too, and re-selling those. It was quite a hustle.”
