Today we’d like to introduce you to Ruby Moran
Ruby , we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Interestingly enough, it was the pandemic that started it all. I already knew that I liked to read, draw, and write, but since I was in middle school, I didn’t know of anyplace to publish or volunteer in. I learned about the importance of extracurriculars in a meeting describing what to expect from the college process. From there, I sought out to find anyplace where I might be able to start participating in activities I like and will benefit me in the long run. I found Journals of Color, an online youth-led magazine run by students of color from The Bronx, and worked with them as an artist for a few months. After that, I joined The Self Journey, another online youth-led organization but with a focus on adolescent mental health and personal development, as an outreach member and eventually became director of the Mentorship Program.
I started to attend school in person my sophomore year of high school, so I the opportunity to start participating in any of my school’s activities was finally open to me. However, my family needed some help. My grandfather passed away in 2020, and my grandmother and mother both started to work. So, I was, and still am, needed everyday after school to fill the gap of time in which my mother leaves to go to her night-shift job and my grandmother comes home from her day job and make sure that my sister has someone to be with at home. This gap could be a few minutes to a few hours, so any sort of attendance at any of my school’s extracurriculars would’ve been difficult and inconvenient for everyone. So, I decided to stick to the remote opportunities that I had access to. All I needed was my laptop, social media, and a search engine.
I’ve joined The Cleverly Creatives as an article writer and have moved up to become their content director, overseeing their team of writers, editors, interviewers, and contributors. I’ve helped them create lessons for and host virtual events, the most recent being their second annual Creativity Summer Camp as a short story counselor and a collaborator on STEAMFest with The Steam Boat organization. I’ve also founded an NYC chapter for Ecolearning Together and I am working towards launching an environmental blog this summer, hopefully with a team of writers and editors with me. I was also an intern with City Limits this past fall and helped conduct research on Mayor Eric Adams and his promises for NYCHA housing. I am now an intern at Illuminate Business and a student worker for the DREAM-SHSI program, helping students get into specialized high schools like the one I was admitted to. I’ve found so many different things to be a part of, and since nearly all of them were run by students my age, I found a lovely community of people to work and learn alongside of.
The loss of my grandfather, the pandemic, and the changes my family has had to make to make sure that my sister and I are well fed with a roof over our heads made my journey slightly more challenging than most of my peers, but I made the best of it. I’m a woman, a child of immigrants, and a child of a low-income family. I didn’t have the same access to things that others have, but I found my way anyway. My resume is full of different experiences that I wouldn’t have gained had I limited myself to what my school offered. I found a way to partake in the things I love without posing too much of a challenge for my relatives that already sacrifice so much for me and my little sister. Each year I’ve found myself becoming more ambitious, more hardworking, and more determined to achieve my big goals. I see now that I can accomplish them, even if that path to success is a little unconventional.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
As I mentioned in the previous question, there were definitely some challenges along the way. It started with the pandemic, which took the world by storm and interrupted millions of lives. I lost my grandfather that year, missed my 8th grade graduation, and completely missed my freshman year of high school. A lot of things changed for me emotionally, academically, and socially because of it.
I entered high school without knowing anybody. Nearly three thousand students there and I didn’t know a single one of them. All of my middle school friends had either stayed in our school or enrolled elsewhere. I was still in mourning over my loss, and had no idea where to begin with starting this next chapter of my life. Again, both my grandmother and mother started working, and my sister needed looking after. She’s also fallen behind in school, but thankfully she’s very enthusiastic and determined to learn, even if the material is frustrating sometimes. I’ve been at my mother’s side for everything. I was with her when my sister had a hard time at kindergarten and had to move schools; I was with her to decide which school to move her to for second grade since this new school didn’t offer any of the IEP services we were told she needed; and I am with her now. I initially planned to move away from home for college, to follow in my peers’ footsteps and enjoy a newfound sense of independence and growth in a different environment, but I’m still needed here. I cannot follow the path I expected for myself, the one most commonly outlined for people my age, I had to adjust to all the twists and turns that came my way.
If I had had the chance to, I would’ve been a part of my school’s Vivo Latino club, Dynamo, which is one of the school’s oldest publications, and perhaps been a part of crew for the theater department. I can’t really dwell on what my high school experience would’ve been like had I not been needed at home every afternoon. I had an amazing time regardless. I made good friends, I was a part of NHS, I helped my journalism teacher during open houses and Alumni Days, I was on the newspaper for all three years it was available to me, and I participated in a lot of different extracurricular activities from home. Above all and most importantly, I was where I needed to be. I talk about my sister every moment I get. I mean, she’s nearly the main topic of this interview response! Even if things aren’t going the way I anticipated them to go, I still recognize how much of an honor it’s been to watch her grow.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
One look at any application or resume of mine will tell you that I am a writer. Even if an initiative I’m a part of doesn’t explicitly call for me to write, I will in some way shape or form include written content for it. I set big goals for myself, and from there I break them down into smaller, more easily achievable steps that help make the journey a little easier. I’m known for my written work, and I intend to release a lot more, perhaps finally release a novel. However, I want to enter the business world. I’m very proud of all that I’ve learned from my volunteer and teaching experiences, I know that I have the potential to be a leader in the workplace, and I hope I can achieve that after I graduate college.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
If any organizations or individuals would like to work with me, or are interested in joining any of the organizations I mentioned I’ve been a part of, please send an email to the email address I’ll indicate in the contact info section. I’d love to have more spaces to publish my work as I adjust to my studies in college. As for support, I currently don’t have any products I’m selling or social media I’m posting to. If anybody has internship opportunities pertaining to business, I’m majoring in management, or writing, which I already have a lot of experience in, I would love to know. I’m constantly looking for more ways to expand my knowledge and skills, especially now that I’ve enrolled into college and must prepare for my time in the workforce in the near future. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn as well, though for any collaborative projects and opportunities and email is the fastest way to reach me.
Contact Info:
