Honorable Mention Winner
Kimberly Ruhge
University of Central Florida
Graduate in MBA program
4.0 GPA

When University of Central Florida's Kimberly Ruhge, 22, volunteered to assist her fellow classmates as an undergraduate freshman, she was afraid of being a case of the "blind leading the blind." Today, as an M.B.A graduate student, Ruhge has nothing to fear. Her passion toward helping others made her realize the needs of the business' student body. She thought that business students needed to unite "with community leaders for networking, service, and career opportunities." To accomplish her vision, she recruited and surveyed over 150 graduate business students, whose responses help in the creation of the Graduate Business Student Association (GBSA).

UCF’s Leadership Enrichment and Academic Development (LEAD) Scholars program monitored Ruhge's first leadership steps. She enrolled LEAD as a freshman, and after a year of intensive leadership training, she became a mentor "in hope to expand other students' leadership capabilities," she says. Ruhge led a group of about 30 students during two years as an Honors Ambassador and Team Leader. Those years sparked her desire to join the UCF Burnett Honors College's Honors Educational Reach Out (HERO) program, which aims to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children from Hillcrest Elementary School, where she continues to be a mentor.

Ruhge isn't only a mentor—she's also a trainer. As the president of UCF's chapter of the American Marketing Association, she's training a group of marketing students to present a marketing plan at the national level for Pringles potato chips. She works on her public relations skills by serving as an officer for Omicron Delta Kappa, a national honor society that recognizes the future leaders of America. In addition, Ruhge is an intern for the UCF Technology Incubator, where she researches a variety of technology topics to be discussed on Voice-America.com and has participated in a variety of projects from creating business plans to helping plan retreats. "I've employed a number of M.B.A students over the years. None have demonstrated the leadership, quality of work, and creativity that Kim does," says Carol Ann Dykes, chief operation officer of Technology Incubator. Ruhge is also a campus marketing manager at Coca-Cola Enterprises, where she's led various promotions, researched brand loyalty, and developed strategic marketing plans. Because of her academic achievements, Ruhge was awarded the UCF Founder's Day Award "Top Student in the College of Business" and the UCF Who's Who Award in spring 2003. In fall 2003, she was named UCF Provost Scholar.

Ruhge's life wouldn't be complete without community service. Throughout the years, she's volunteered for a variety of programs including Habitat for Humanity and the Ripple Effect program, which collects donations and distributes them to the homeless. Ruhge's commitment to her community kept her on the Dean's List and President's List each semester since 2000. Also in 2000, Ruhge was elected "Youth of the Year" by the Florida Exchange Club and was awarded the Prudential Spirit Volunteer Award.

Ruhge covers her expenses with two part-time jobs, a graduate assistance tuition waiver, personal savings, and help from her husband. —MAC

Contact Ruhge at kwatts03@hotmail.com.