Ivan Ruiz-Ayala

Flickering yellow lights on the Golden Gate Bridge, the golden arches synonymous with McDonald’s, and the sight of an American flag are every day sights for many Americans. But when Ivan Ruiz-Ayala of Peru saw them for the first time on American soil in 1990, they were “icons of America,” tangible for the first time.

“I had seen many of these things only in movies,” Ruiz said. “It was a very nice feeling to see a real American flag.”

Ruiz, a 45-year-old Spanish professor at GC&SU, made his first voyage to America when he was 29. Ruiz came as a tourist to visit his brother at Berkeley University in California, but decided that he liked America and would like to move to the U.S. to work.

A native of Peru, Ruiz said he grew up as a “non-conformist,” moving out of his home after high school in a society where children predominately lived in their parents’ home until after college. Ruiz decided at an early age that music would be a dominating force in his life.

Ruiz’s passion for music developed while he was young; he started playing the piano when he was only 6 years old.
wanted to be a concertist,” Ruiz said. “When I was a student my parents were happy because I was a prodigy child and gave concerts. I finished high school and told my mom I wanted to go to the conservatory to practice seriously to be a musician, and she told me I needed a ‘real career.’”

Ruiz said his father’s influence was part of what helped him decide that he would like to pursue a career in literature. He spent hours in his father’s enormous library, pouring over translations of books such as Mark Twain and Grimm’s Fairy Tales.

Ruiz earned his bachelor of arts degree in humanities with a distinction in linguistics and literature, and a master of arts degree in Hispanic literature through the Peruvian Catholic University system. After Ruiz completed a Ph. D. in Spanish philology in Spain, he began applying for teaching jobs in America.

“Coming from another country (to teach) in some form was not ordinary,” Ruiz said. “It was something that pleased me to know that.”

Ruiz accepted his first teaching position in the U.S.A. at the University of Minnesota. Ruiz said when he arrived in Minnesota in the fall of 1999, a lack of English conversation skills made it somewhat difficult for him to communicate.

“My first semester was very difficult because, although I was able to read in English, I was not able to have conversation,” Ruiz said. “In my classes I didn’t say one word in English. Some students hated me, but some students realized they were learning and were interested.”

Ruiz said it would have been easy to spend time only with others who had a similar background and spoke his language, but that is not the path he chose. Ruiz knew he would not learn the English language unless he learned to acclimate.

“Little by little I was entering into the American society,” Ruiz said. “(Learning how to do this was) not only to teach class, it is also to have friends and learn to interact with your environment.”

After one year at the University of Minnesota, Ruiz was offered a position as a temporary teacher at the University of Florida. He spent one semester there before returning to Minnesota.

Then in December, Ruiz attended the annual Modern Language Association of America Convention in Washington D.C. to search for further opportunities in the job market.

“I had 10 interviews with different institutions,” Ruiz said. “The (interviews) are very tough, very stressful, but you need to be calm because you are confronting your future.”

GC&SU was one of the universities that expressed interest in Ruiz at the conference. After he visited Milledgeville to complete the interview process, Ruiz accepted a tenured position as a professor for the modern foreign language department in August of 2001. It had been only two years since his arrival in America.

Dr. Roger Noel of Belgium, chair of the Modern Foreign Language Department, said GC&SU has many professors like Ruiz who come from other countries.

“Most of my faculty here are from another country and have been educated in another country, but also here in the U.S.,” Noel said. “The perspective we bring is awareness of the importance of other cultures and the need to make students aware of other cultures.”

When Ruiz arrived at GC&SU he was still fairly new to teaching in America, but he had already accumulated15 years of teaching experience at the university level in Lima, Peru.

Ruiz said he was also a well-renowned writer in his home country, both for his work as a literary critic and a as a novelist. Ruiz published more than 70 articles in the well-known Peruvian newspaper, The Commerce.

Ruiz’s first three novels range from collections of his poetry to compositions about surreal poets. He is currently working on his fourth publication, which will be a collection of his publications that appeared in The Commerce and additional book reviews.

Although Ruiz has his sights on his next publication, he said his busy schedule does not leave him much time to focus on the novel. In what spare time he does have, Ruiz plays a wide variety of instruments, ranging from the piano to the guitar, and coaches GC&SU’s Table Tennis Team.

Senior Tim Carroll, 21, has been had Ruiz as both a teacher and a coach.

“He’s a great ping pong player and has a very enjoyable personality,” Carroll said. “He’s a very patient teacher.”

Ruiz’s pride and satisfaction in his career is often reflected through his work and the enjoyment his students gain from being in his company.

“I would like continuing living in Georgia in the future. I feel happy at GC&SU,” Ruiz said. “This is a great and nice institution, with a serious commitment with the liberal arts studies, and supports my two loves: teaching and research.”

continued from pg. 1…

“I wanted to be a concertist,” Ruiz said. “When I was a student, my parents were happy because I was a prodigy child and gave concerts. I finished high school and told my mom I wanted to go to the conservatory to practice seriously to be a musician, and she told me I needed a ‘real career.’”

Ruiz said his father’s influence was part of what helped him decide that he would like to pursue a career in literature. He spent hours in his father’s enormous library, pouring over translations of books such as Mark Twain and Grimm’s Fairy Tales.

Ruiz earned his bachelor’s degree in humanities with a distinction in linguistics and literature and a master’s degree in Hispanic literature through the Peruvian Catholic University system. After Ruiz completed his doctorate in Spanish philology in Spain, he began applying for teaching jobs in America.

“Coming from another country (to teach) in some form was not ordinary,” Ruiz said. “It was something that pleased me to know that.”

Ruiz accepted his first teaching position in the U.S. at the University of Minnesota. Ruiz said when he arrived in Minnesota in the fall of 1999, a lack of English conversation skills made it somewhat difficult for him to communicate.

“My first semester was very difficult because, although I was able to read in English, I was not able to have conversation,” Ruiz said. “In my classes, I didn’t say one word in English. Some students hated me, but some students realized they were learning and were interested.”

Ruiz said it would have been easy to spend time only with others who had a similar background and spoke his language, but that was not the path he chose. Ruiz knew he would not learn the English language unless he learned to acclimate.

“Little by little, I was entering into the American society,” Ruiz said. “(Learning how to do this was) not only to teach class; it is also to have friends and learn to interact with your environment.”

After one year at the University of Minnesota, Ruiz was offered a position as a temporary teacher at the University of Florida. He spent one semester there before returning to Minnesota.

Then in December, Ruiz attended the annual Modern Language Association of America Convention in Washington D.C. to search for further opportunities in the job market.

“I had 10 interviews with different institutions,” Ruiz said. “The (interviews) are very tough, very stressful, but you need to be calm because you are confronting your future.”

GC&SU was one of the universities that expressed interest in Ruiz at the conference. After he visited Milledgeville to complete the interview process, Ruiz accepted a tenured position as a professor for the Modern Foreign Languages Department in August of 2001. It had been only two years since his arrival in America.

Dr. Roger Noel of Belgium, chair of the Modern Foreign Languages Department, said GC&SU has many professors like Ruiz who come from other countries.

“Most of my faculty here are from another country and have been educated in another country but also here in the U.S.,” Noel said. “The perspective we bring is awareness of the importance of other cultures and the need to make students aware of other cultures.”

When Ruiz arrived at GC&SU, he was still fairly new to teaching in America, but he had already accumulated 15 years of teaching experience at the university level in Lima, Peru.

Ruiz said he was also a well-renowned writer in his home country, both for his work as a literary critic and as a author. He published more than 70 articles in the well-known Peruvian newspaper, The Commerce.

Ruiz’s first three books range from collections of his poetry to compositions about surreal poets. He is currently working on his fourth publication, which will be a collection of his publications that appeared in The Commerce and additional book reviews.

Although Ruiz has his sights on his next publication, he said his busy schedule does not leave him much time to focus on the book. In what spare time he does have, Ruiz plays a wide variety of instruments, ranging from the piano to the guitar, and coaches GC&SU’s table tennis team.

Senior Tim Carroll has had Ruiz as both a teacher and a coach.

“He’s a great ping pong player and has a very enjoyable personality,” Carroll said. “He’s a very patient teacher.”

Ruiz’s pride and satisfaction in his career is often reflected through his work and the enjoyment his students gain from being in his company.

“I would like continuing living in Georgia in the future. I feel happy at GC&SU,” Ruiz said. “This is a great and nice institution, with a serious commitment with the liberal arts studies, and supports my two loves: teaching and research.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 18 2005. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry