Christina Triana-Ruiz (23) is a recent PLNU graduate with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Women’s Studies. Ruiz was born and raised in San Diego and completed two years of community college before transferring to PLNU in 2021. Since graduating from PLNU, she has done crucial work for nonprofits, like translating, that help ensure equal and proper legal representation for immigrants.
After graduating high school, Ruiz decided to go to work as a police dispatcher, answering 9-1-1 calls and sending police officers to the scene of the call. However, Ruiz decided pretty quickly that this was not something that she wanted to do long-term and made the jump to go back to school. Ruiz started out at a local community college in San Diego before transferring to PLNU.
Going into college, Ruiz had declared a Criminal Justice major and a minor in Behavioral Studies but decided to switch to Political Science because it is more geared towards her passion for history. Political Science deals much more with the historical side of law versus Criminal Justice focusing on legal codes and laws. Ruiz also felt that Political Science gave her more career opportunities.
“I felt like it [Political Science] opened up doors a little bit more for me,” Ruiz said.
Ruiz explained during her interview that PLNU’s student population was more predominantly white than she was expecting and expressed the intense culture shock she experienced. Growing up in Chula Vista, Ruiz was immersed in environments dominated by people of color and was not used to being the minority. Ruiz said that she was often one of or the only person of color in her classes.
Ruiz expressed that one of the most memorable classes from her time at Point Loma was Politics of Race, Class, and Gender with Linda Beail, Ph.D., professor of political science at PLNU. In this class, Ruiz appreciated how they would explore perspectives from all different kinds of people, rather than just a white perspective.
“It was just a really cool class,” Ruiz said. “We would read a bunch of books and analyze them from a women’s perspective, from a man’s perspective, from different minorities’ perspectives. I just thought it was really interesting, and I still have all the books from that class.”
Ruiz was raised in a Catholic household, so the religious aspects of PLNU were different from what she was raised in. As she got closer to her professors, Ruiz appreciated the spiritual guidance offered by the professors, such as praying for the class before a big exam.
The professors were Ruiz’s biggest supporters during her time at PLNU; their positivity and encouragement to share her perspective is something that Ruiz said she’ll always remember and carry with her. Ruiz learned how her perspective as a person of color made the class more valuable because of the words and actions of her professors.
During her undergrad, Ruiz participated in an internship with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) where she helped individuals study for their citizenship exams. In addition, Ruiz also interned for the California Western School of Law (CWSL) on their Community Law Project. This project recruits college students to give legal advice to people pro bono and still volunteers at both of these organizations, including interpretation work for the CWSL.
After officially graduating in 2023, Ruiz continued at her job at her family’s construction company. She had managerial responsibilities, such as buying materials, negotiating contracts, and processing payments. Ruiz really enjoyed working with her family but was really searching for something within her field.
“I’m first generation, so although I was born here, I kind of felt like I was also undocumented just because their fear almost passed onto me,”
At the beginning of 2024, Ruiz accepted a position at Immigration Justice Project, a non-profit organization that focuses on helping people who are going through removal proceedings and representing unaccompanied children with the hopes of getting her foot in the door. In her first position, Ruiz worked as a desk clerk, with responsibilities such as initial client intake and running things into court.
Ruiz was also very involved in translating mail for attorneys, and still does a lot of translation work for the non-profit. Ruiz was recently promoted in this organization to a paralegal position, a role that Ruiz hopes will solidify her essential position within the legal field of immigration.
For the last year, Ruiz has been studying for the LSAT and applying to different law schools with the goal of becoming an immigration attorney. Ruiz hopes to attend California Western School of Law in downtown San Diego.
As a first generation Mexican American, Ruiz has always felt drawn to assisting those trying to immigrate into the U.S. Ruiz’s parents are immigrants who were undocumented for most of her life, and she expressed how a lot of their fears were passed down to her.
“I’m first generation, so although I was born here, I kind of felt like I was also undocumented just because their fear almost passed onto me,” Ruiz said. “And I saw a lot of attorneys say ‘We can’t help you’ or charge ridiculous amounts of money. So ever since I was little, I wanted to be someone that can help people that are in the position my family was once in.”
Ruiz wants to give a shout out to the “amazing” Political Science department at Point Loma and credits their support with the reason she walked across the stage and the source of encouragement for her postgraduate work.
“There were times where I was like, ‘You know what, I’m done,’” Ruiz expressed. “And I had so much support from everyone [PLNU Political Science professors], and I just love them so much. I still go back and visit them every once in a while because they’re so amazing and the reason I graduated.”
“And I had so much support from everyone [PLNU Political Science professors], and I just love them so much. I still go back and visit them every once in a while because they’re so amazing and the reason I graduated.”
