Freshman Jared Rugen is the student we all aim to be. He’s the definition of a well-balanced student. He’s involved on campus, in his hometown, takes some difficult classes and still manages to hang out with friends and family. Despite his busy schedule, he makes time to meet up and chat with me.
HC: What are you involved with here on campus and outside of school?
I’m involved in hall council, I’m an RHA Rep. I’m also in the Business Scholars Program, which is a great program for my major, Entrepreneurship. And I’m in choir! Off campus is a little more involved. I do a weird sport, it’s called artistic roller skating. It’s not a sport anybody has ever heard of! It’s the exact same thing you see on ice, but with roller skates.
HC: What piqued your interest in artistic roller skating?
Well, my freshman year in high school I took a class and I guess I got good at it fast. One of the coaches took me aside and said I should take private lessons, so I did. I kind of just got sucked into it! I started competing junior year in high school. Last year I competed for a spot on the World’s team with my partner and got third place, unfortunately they only took two teams.
HC: How dedicated are you to this sport? In other words, how many hours a week do you practice and how big of a commitment is it?
I dedicate a lot of my time into this. Over the summer I spend about forty hours a week practicing and during the school year about twenty. I go home to Flossmoor every weekend to practice/compete and one of my partners comes all the way from Missouri.
HC: What do you plan on doing with your major?
I would like to start up my own business, I want to be able to run and create it. I’m looking at green technology right now. My brother is doing research with chemistry so maybe we could work together somehow.
HC: What do you like to do in your free time? (If you have any!)
I really like to read books. Fiction or historical fiction in particular. I read Moby Dick over the summer and really liked that. Pretty much any of the classics. Right now I’m trying to start reading something, but every time I pick a book up I feel guilty because I should probably be reading my economics book instead.
HC: How’s your UIC experience going so far and what do you plan on accomplishing in the next four years?
Pretty good so far. I’ve been having a lot of fun and I’ve met so many new people. So many! The first day I met like forty people and couldn’t remember any of their names by the next day.
I definitely plan on finishing my degree and hopefully get some internships. I would also like to study abroad at some point, I’m thinking to Italy.
HC: If you could sing any song on American Idol what would it be?
Oh wow, I have no idea…Well, I’d sing something classical, probably “Ave Maria.”