Senior Abby Ruby will graduate this April with a degree in business management and health service leadership and a minor in management info systems. 

She reflected on her Simpson College experience and is grateful Simpson gave her the tools needed to prepare for her future career. 

“I really enjoyed the ability to meet so many people and the ability to grow deep connections with my professors,” Ruby said. 

Ruby feels the close-knit campus and classrooms give her more bang for her buck. 

“I really enjoyed the small campus and the relationships you had the chance to build with your professors,” Ruby said.  “I felt like it’s a better investment than going to a state school.”

Simpson’s smaller academic setting has garnered real results for Ruby; her academic success and professional rapport have given her opportunities to advance her career development. 

Since her time at Simpson, Ruby has held an impressive number of internships—five in total, even traveling cross-country for some.

She interned at Wesley Life in Des Moines three times, all in different departments. She traveled to Cedar Rapids to work in a senior living community through the LCS Foundation and was also a summer intern at The Smithsonian Institution in Palo Alto, Cali. and the Emerson Collective Cohort in Colombia, S.C.

“I think Simpson’s Business Department has really prepared me to develop the ability to hold conversations with other professionals and hold myself to professional standards which will help me in my future career,” Ruby said.  

Ruby would like to be a licensed nursing home administrator post-graduation. 

But she’s grateful for more than just Simpson’s academic community. 

“I have also met some of my lifelong friends here,” Ruby said. “I think every night has been a great memory—hanging out with my friends all throughout the years.” 

If she could go back in time and give advice to her freshman-year self, she would encourage herself to be a bit more social. 

“Don’t be afraid to get to know people,” Ruby said. “Everyone is welcoming and inclusive and when you talk to people everyone is always super nice.”