Graduating senior Ian Ruiz was selected as this year’s S.J. Dilenschneider Award honoree at St. Charles Preparatory School.
Recipients are chosen from among the school’s junior and senior classes for having made a meaningful and positive impact on the Columbus St. Charles Preparatory School community. The honoree exemplifies the qualities of the Borromean spirit – in honor of the school’s patron, St. Charles Borromeo – exemplified by service to others and upholding the ideals of St. Charles Preparatory. It acknowledges the student’s personal character, leadership and civic mindedness.
“Ian is the type of student every college in America wants on their campus: intellectually curious, self-motivated and compassionate,” said Thomas Giles, a college counselor at St. Charles.
“It is easy to see that Ian is admirable amongst his peers,” Giles added. “I am so proud of Ian’s accomplishments and determination to be the first in his family to go to college.”
On his S.J. Dilenschneider Award application, Ruiz wrote, “By winning this award, I would not have to burden my parents with my cost of attending college. They have worked so hard. In fact, they continue to work so hard for both me and my sister. They immigrated into the U.S. around 20 years ago, and they struggled to adapt to their new way of life.
“They worked as menial laborers for a couple of years before they advanced into more managerial roles. They were dutiful managers for a regional buffet restaurant. Yet, even in their new positions, they faced difficulties. They were disparaged for being immigrants, and their working hours were unusually long. Nevertheless, they endured, raised two children.
“At the time, I could not understand how profound their troubles were. I was only six years old after all. But once I grew older, and once they confided in me, I could not be prouder. Here were two people, living in a place far from their hometown, managing their working hours to provide for their family and still lovingly raising their children. How could I not be proud?
“So, to repay even the tiniest bit of that effort, I studied hard in school. I kept out of trouble. I protected my sister. Even if I do not receive this scholarship, I will not hesitate in finding other ways to lessen my parents’ burden. They have done so much for me, so I want to repay them in whatever way I can.”
Giles noted that Ruiz served as the primary campus guide for a fellow senior who is completely visually impaired. Ruiz waited for his peer after every period, regardless if they were in the same class, and took him to his next class.
“For that opportunity, I am so incredibly grateful,” Ruiz said. “Although we began as simply fellow classmates, throughout sophomore year and especially through junior and senior year, he has grown to be one of my closest friends. In fact, I would go as far as to say he is the friend I talk to the most in school. Whether it is about our homework, class schedules or just mundane topics, we talk(ed) to each other every day for the past three years.”
Ruiz also tutored, mentored and assisted several students during his years at St. Charles.
“I strove to help others whenever they were struggling in a subject,” he said. “I remember this year especially I tutored a junior who was struggling in honors chemistry. After being asked by Mr. (Ryan) Mickle to help him, I gladly gave him my time. We set up shared times where he could come to me with any questions, either in chemistry or Algebra II.”
Ruiz served as a mentor for the school’s My Brother’s Keeper mentoring group and as vice president of outreach. In the program, St. Charles students go into the community and tutor local students in an elementary school. Ruiz’s mentee is now a freshman at St. Charles Preparatory School.
Ruiz mentored and tutored several St. Charles underclassmen, advising them on how to better prepare for exams, expectations for later years at St. Charles and how to mentally prepare for the rigorous schooling that St. Charles challenges its upperclassmen.
For the past year, Ruiz served on the Columbus Holy Spirit Church parish council – its youngest member – in addition to involvement in several community service projects at St. Charles.
Ruiz has a passion for writing. He served as editor-in-chief for the school’s newspaper, The Carolian, and an editor for the school’s yearbook, The Spectrum, for four years.
Ruiz, a member of the school’s Borromean Chapter of the National Honor Society, excelled in the classroom as well. He held a 4.33 grade point average, scored magna cum laude on the National Latin Exam his sophomore year, and earned the Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Award from the University of Rochester for being a four-year member of the school’s honor roll.
He was named an advanced placement (AP) scholar with honor the past two years, earning an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP exams and scores of 3.0 or higher on four or more of the exams.
He was also a student-athlete. Ruiz ran track during his sophomore year and was on the St. Charles cross country and track teams his junior year.
The S.J. Dilenschneider Award was initiated in 2021 by Robert “Bob” L. Dilenschneider and his wife. Dilenschneider, a 1961 graduate of St. Charles Preparatory School, is CEO of The Dilenschneider Group, a leading public relations authority, and an alumnus of the University of Notre Dame. Jan is an internationally recognized expressionist painter and graduate of Ohio State University. The spouses are natives of Upper Arlington.
S. J. Dilenschneider (Bob’s father), the award’s inspiration, enjoyed a storied career in business and journalism. In the words of one who chronicled S. J. Dilenschneider, he was “a good citizen who loved his fellow man, his family and his newspaper.” The award includes an engraved wooden box and $10,000.
Since its founding in 1923, St. Charles Preparatory School remains focused on Catholic teaching, hard work, discipline, values, character development and service to the community. Offering a college preparatory program to 583 boys enrolled in grades 9-12, its students are instilled with the importance of being their brother’s keeper and represent various economic and geographic backgrounds throughout central Ohio.