Paulina Ruelas '20 Recruiting Profile

Hello, my name is Paulina Ruelas, and I am currently a senior at Kalani High School. Throughout my freshman and sophomore year,  I was a part of the Kalani Marching Band, their bowling team, swim team, and their track and field team as a thrower for shotput and discus. Along with these high school sports, I swam year round with my club team. I changed it up junior year by dropping marching band and track, but I joined water polo. Next year, I will continue these sports while doing whatever it takes to keep my grades up. In my mind, being a student-athlete means that I should always put school first and keep sports at a close second. Some people ask me why I swim if it makes me so tired, and I just tell them "because I know it will make me stronger." I love the feeling you get after a hard practice of over 10,000 yards because you can just look back on it and tell yourself, "I did that!" What I'm trying to say is that swimming gives me both the mental and physical strength that I use on a daily basis in the pool and in the classroom. I always give it my all and try to have a positive attitude for everything I do.

Being part of a military family, I have traveled all around the country. I've learned about a variety of cultures and values of different ethnic groups, and I've experienced different weather from the most extreme to the most beautiful. This has made me more of an open minded individual, so I don't really have a preference about any specific geographic location where I would want to study. I realize that if I have any chance to attend a college or university, it would have to be on a scholarship. I know my parents would greatly appreciate me finding my own way to pay for my schooling, and that is what this is all about. To help my family and to do what I love would be the best thing in the world for me.