April 27, 2023 - (海角社区CI) Applied Physics major Trent Ruiz failed to get into college more than once, often felt discouraged, and struggled with anxiety and depression.
But thanks to mentors, good therapists and sheer perseverance, Ruiz, 29, became the first in his family to attend college, is the recipient of two major scholarships, and served as the lead student for a recently awarded grant from NASA for $80K.
鈥淚鈥檓 graduating but I don鈥檛 want to stop being part of the physics department here,鈥� Ruiz said. 鈥淭he mentors here have changed my life. Sometimes people just need an opportunity.鈥�
One of the scholarships was a $2,500 STEM-NET SoCalGas Student Research Fellowship for undergraduate students to work with 海角社区 science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) faculty members on research projects during the summer 2022 semester. Ruiz and the five other SoCalGas scholars will present the results of the research during the Spring 2023 STEM-NET SoCalGas Student Research Fellowship Virtual Caf茅 on Thursday, April 27 from noon to 1:30 p.m.
鈥淚 was killing myself working seven days a week,鈥� Ruiz said. 鈥淗aving these funded research opportunities allows me to focus on school. I wake up every morning excited. It has allowed me to care for my mental health.鈥�
The title of Ruiz鈥檚 research study is: Computational Aspects of Peridynamic Corrosion聽Damage Modeling and Scanning Vibrating Electrode Technique Validation - which, simply put, describes a mathematical model that can predict corrosion damage in various metals.
鈥淐orrosion plays a big role in our infrastructure,鈥� Ruiz explained. 鈥淓specially in our underwater pipelines. Once you put steel in an electrolytic (like saltwater) solution, it corrodes like crazy. Our models will be able to predict where corrosion is going to happen.鈥�
His research interests also played a part in a major grant proposal he wrote with Associate Professor of Mathematics Cynthia Flores, one of the mentors who helped change his life.
鈥淭rent Ruiz is what Channel Islands is all about,鈥� Flores said. 鈥淚'll never forget the effort and creativity he puts into his math assignments. He recently led the successful $80K聽 we've been awarded on modeling and validating corrosion damage for aerospace metals and I look forward to continuing working with him and following his career journey.鈥澛�
Ruiz also is the recipient of a Hispanic-Serving Institution 鈥淪TEM Model for Advancing Research and Teaching鈥� (HSI-SMART) scholarship for $4,200. Flores recommended Ruiz for the scholarship and invited him to participate in her research project.聽
Ruiz is the first to tell you that his story might have had a different ending had he not known when to ask for help.
The Ventura native graduated from Foothill Technology High School and began studying engineering at Ventura College, but his journey to 海角社区CI was not a straight line.
鈥淭he first time I applied to colleges, I got denied,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 finally got wait-listed at UC San Diego (UCSD), but I was suffering from some really bad mental health problems and I was not doing well academically. I finally got into UCSD, but they kicked me out because of my grades. For a long time I didn鈥檛 think I was going to go to college.鈥�
When he returned to Ventura, a former high school mentor contacted him and asked if he would tutor his son and daughter.
鈥淭hrough tutoring his kids, I fell in love with science all over again,鈥� Ruiz said. 鈥淭rigonometry, calculus, all of it. I began tutoring a handful of Foothill students and I even tutored my mom鈥檚 friends so they could get a job promotion. And it paid my bills.鈥�
But his anxiety and depression were still getting the best of him, so his attempts to return to college were unsuccessful.
鈥淚 cared so little about myself, I was so stressed about all kinds of things,鈥� Ruiz said. 鈥淚 was a financial burden on my family, but it was so hard to care about school. Then I had a friend at UCSD who had gone to counseling at the college, so I went to therapy.鈥�
Therapy was just what he needed. Ruiz then applied to 海角社区CI and, after one unsuccessful attempt, was accepted. He thrived in physics and mathematics under the mentorship of faculty members like Flores, Physics Lecturer Brian Rasnow, and Professor of Physics Greg Wood, to name a few.
鈥淲hen I first went back to school and studied physics and math, I just wanted to know more,鈥� Ruiz said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just - existential. It鈥檚 the reason I know I鈥檓 in the universe. You can鈥檛 make this stuff up and it鈥檚 beautiful. The fact that I鈥檓 learning a language that is the same throughout the entirety of the universe. It doesn鈥檛 matter what language you speak because the language of mathematics is always the same.鈥�
After graduation, he hopes to pursue a Ph.D. or look into starting up a company using the research he鈥檚 continuing to develop about corrosion. He is open about his struggles because he wants other students experiencing the same struggles to know that there鈥檚 hope, and there鈥檚 help.
the STEM-NET SoCalGas Student Research Fellowship Virtual Caf茅 on Thursday, April 27 at noon to learn more about Trent鈥檚 research.