Ruffin ’21: Pushing On

By Molly Rolon, Associate Editor

Cadet Ariana Ruffin ’21 is one of the linchpins of VMI’s track and field team. The petite sprinter brought on the power during the team’s indoor season, notching first place finishes in the 200- and 400-meter races, and is the indoor conference champion in the 400-meter race. The Southern Conference took note; she was one of 11 conference Athletes of the Month in January 2021.

She was recruited by several colleges, including the U.S. Naval Academy, for her athletic prowess. An aspiring physician, Ruffin carefully looked at college biology programs. The Institute fit the bill in both athletics and academics.

“I decided to attend VMI because I didn’t want to attend a college where I was going to get lost in a system,” she remembered. “I wanted to make sure that I was going to a college where my teachers knew my name; they would be able to ... help me if I needed help.”

At VMI, she received assurance from the biology department and from the team that she, personally, would be important.

“I fell in love with the track program,” she said. “Coach [Sean] Bernstein, when he recruited me, made me feel like I would be a huge asset to the team. And I didn’t feel like that at all the other schools [where] I was being recruited; I just felt like I was going to be ... another number.”

Ruffin’s contributions to the track team continued throughout her cadetship, and she feels “comfortable” academically. The biology department is “very homey for me,” Ruffin said. She often spends time sitting and talking with her professors, “because I know they have my best interests at heart.”

Some of her most difficult times at VMI were during her own Rat Line, when she had to balance NCAA practice with rat training. Her roommates helped her a lot, and her cadre were understanding and willing to help her make up for lost time and catch up on military training.

Another challenge came during Ruffin’s 3rd Class year. She was the senior cadet sprinter on the team—and there were six rats. Teaching and mentoring the rats fell to Ruffin, still a very new cadet herself. She carried a heavy load with the basics alone—making sure “her” rats were OK, advising them, and helping them get to the right place at the right time.

“It was a lot on my plate, because that was the first year where I didn’t have my dyke,” she recalled. “I felt like I was pretty much everybody’s dyke.”

The challenges from her 3rd Class year were foundational. She learned how to use different strategies for various situations and personalities.

“I think that really molded me into the leader that I am today,” she said. “I always was the type of person to ... just worry about myself, but it forced me to really pay attention to how others felt and how to help them when they’re going through a difficult time.”

She has two favorite VMI experiences: The week leading up to Breakout, and Ring Figure. The BR spirit for both was evident in “the amount of just the energy that was ... in barracks and surrounding my class in general.”

When she’s not running, studying, or marching, Ruffin enjoys the cinema—and if she wasn’t pursuing a career in medicine, she’d look toward movies for a career.

“I think I would probably have been a movie director, or a movie critic, because I’m very interested in films,” she said. “I like critiquing, and I like studying different directors. I’m fascinated with Tim Burton, James Cameron, and Steven Spielberg.”

She also enjoys trying new restaurants and new types of food. Japanese cuisine is her current favorite, and visiting Japan, Thailand, and other Asian countries is on her bucket list.

Ruffin balances a lot between academics, athletics, and military duties. Aside from track and academics, she’s the Cadet Equity Association’s vice president for investigations. When things get tough, when her many spheres of responsibility seem overwhelming, she thinks back to her Rat Line, what she has already completed, and her end goal. “If I was able to finish the Rat Line, then I’m able to push through further down the line when there’s something difficult going on— whether I have a bunch of tests or I know this is going to be a hard week of practice ... I think about how far I came,” she said. “I think about how good I will feel once I’m done and finished and on my way to medical school. I think about the future, how I’m going to feel, and I just push on.”

Cadet Ariana Ruffin ’21, a biology major and Cadet Equity Association vice president for investigations, is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She’s a sprinter on the track team and won the 2021 Southern Conference indoor championship title in the 400-meter race. Ruffin’s education is funded with the Goodall Family Athletic Scholarship and the Robert B. Rust Jr. 1934 Scholarship.—Photo by Micalyn Miller, VMI Alumni Agencies.