After 30 years of hard work and service, Sra. Ruiz, one of Warren’s most beloved Spanish teachers, is retiring. Before coming to Warren, Sra. Ruiz earned her Bachelor’s in Education and Spanish at Indiana State University. She then proceeded to study at Saint Louis University’s Madrid Campus, earning her Master’s in Spanish. During her time at Warren she has taught a wide range of classes, including AP Spanish Literature, Honors Spanish 3 and 4, and College Prep. Despite this large course load and all of her responsibilities, Sra. Ruiz has stayed focused on helping her students. And her efforts have not gone unnoticed. AJ Serrano, a senior at Warren, had Sra. Ruiz as a junior. “Sra. Ruiz was truly a one of a kind teacher,”  she says. “She has taught me so much not only in the Spanish language but also in life. Her positivity and creativity made learning at the end of a long, difficult day easy and something to look forward to.”

For her part, Sra. Ruiz will miss Warren deeply. Her favorite part of teaching is getting to interact with kids and helping them become better people. She loves that Warren is so “big and diverse,” and that students are really able to “be themselves and at the same time feel accepted.” That’s what makes Warren special, she says. As for her biggest accomplishments, she feels that “helping her AP Spanish Literature students pass the AP test in May” is one of her most notable ones. The class itself entails the comprehension and memorization of 38 Spanish readings, a challenging curriculum that she has put hours of work into, all for the benefit of her students. When their scores come back in July, she always feels extremely rewarded. 

During retirement, Sra. Ruiz hopes to spend time traveling, hiking, riding bikes, being with her family, and caring for her grandson. She might even try working as a translator in a hospital or some other altruistic institution. As for any advice she would give to younger teachers, she would encourage that they “teach from the heart” and “look inside themselves and give their students everything they have so that they know you truly care for them.” This way they can make a positive impact in their students’ lives, just as Sra. Ruiz has done for so long.

Through all of her dedication, enthusiasm, and overall commitment to her students, one thing is for sure: Warren will miss Sra. Ruiz. Perhaps that is best put by Serrano, who says “Warren has been lucky to have such a resilient, caring, and supportive teacher as special as Sra. Ruiz, who truly loves what she does and all of her students. She will be missed dearly.”