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Ruth Zina Abraham

Biography

Highlights of Young Scholar Experience: Besides opening doors to academic and personal enrichment through programs near her home base, Ruth Abraham’s status as a Young Scholar also allowed her to travel domestically and visit other nations to partake in academic and volunteer programs.  There was a Spanish immersion course in Minnesota, a service trip/immersion program to Costa Rica for six weeks, and a college-level course at an Ivy League college in New England on financial management . . . just to name a few.  Ruth said it best: “The Young Scholars program had a major impact on my life and I greatly appreciate it.”

Profile:  Mathematics has always come easy to Ruth.  Some people can learn to play piano concertos overnight; others are natural athletes; and still others have a gift for learning languages.  But for Ruth, a native of the Washington, DC area, she can’t recall the “pivotal moment” when everything clicked for her.  She just always enjoyed math classes and the challenge of logically solving numbers problems . . . and as she grew older, helping her peers who didn’t have the same natural love for the subject or her natural ability.  Ruth follows to a tee the advice of famed mathematician S. Gruber, who long ago said: “The essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated, but to make complicated things simple.”  Although she’s a whiz at math, Ruth also excelled in all of her other subjects at the famed School Without Walls Senior High School in DC’s Foggy Bottom area, located near the campus of George Washington University. She still found time to volunteer with various social concerns and environmental groups during her high school days. 

Inspiration: A teacher who influenced Ruth greatly was her piano teacher, Mr. Jones. In addition to teaching her piano, “he has given me plenty of life lessons.”

Aspiration: The business world probably awaits Ruth.  Her natural acumen for all-things mathematical while wanting to share her knowledge is leading Ruth to a possible career as a financial advisor. 

Making a Difference: Ruth reached a high level of accomplishment by “perserverance and determination,” and when she set goals for herself, she always put in the effort to accomplish them.  That philosophy served her well in the classroom, but just as important with the various organizations she volunteered at over the years.  For example, she gave hundreds of hours of her free time providing outreach to local schools for the DC Department of the Environment and developed workshops for a group called Teens Against the Spread of AIDS.  There was also a volunteer trip to Costa Rica where she and other classmates provided repairs to a small school in a remote village.

Accolades: Ruth was no stranger to the Honor Roll at School Without Walls.  She was also a member of the National Honor Society.

Interesting Fact: This may give those frightened of heights the jitters, but Ruth loves to bungee jump, and soon she may give sky diving a go.

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