RMA welcomed senior Eduardo Ruthes into our community in his sixth-grade year. As a bilingual individual (he is fluent in Portuguese!) who has now lived in three countries—the US, Brazil, and Bahrain (an island off the east coast of Saudi Arabia)–Eduardo considers himself an “open-minded” and “sophisticated” person. His time at RMA has also revealed him to be a quiet and dependable student that classmates can rely on for guidance (especially in math) and leadership.

Intelligent and hard-working, Eduardo is currently taking AP Physics, AP Calculus, AP 

Environmental Science, AP Psychology, and Honors English 12. He particularly enjoys his AP Physics and Calculus courses because “he likes how it all clicks together once you learn them.” His curiosity has earned him a variety of awards in Upper School, including Straight A Honors in Grade 9, Academic Excellence in Spanish I and II, Highest Academic Average in Advanced English 9 and Honors Pre-calculus, Highest Achievement in AP US History, and A Honor Roll in Grades 9, 10, and 11. 

Rounding out his academic achievements are his creative and athletic endeavors. This year, he founded an Audio Editing Club to explore various audio editing techniques and often experiments with these techniques in his Music Performance class.  Outside of the classroom, Eduardo has played soccer since Middle School on the JV team in grades 7-8 and the Varsity team in grades 9-12 alongside his best friend, Ben Taylor. Demonstrating his versatility, he played left midfield in 7-9th grades, left-wing in 10th grade, and left defender in 11th and 12th. Eduardo also plays on the E-Sports team, which was founded this year for students to compete against other schools in online games. He also enjoys playing video games recreationally at home.

No description of Eduardo would be complete without mentioning his admiration for Star Wars. Eduardo says that A New Hope (the original Star Wars movie from 1977) is his favorite movie, which—given his love of science and math—seems appropriate, and he identifies Obi-Wan Kenobi as his role model. In fact, when asked to offer a piece of advice to underclassmen, he cited Obi-Wan’s statement, “In my experience, there is no such thing as luck.” As Eduardo’s success here has shown, it’s all about hard work and patience, the value of which he says he learned from RMA.

We’re sure Eduardo will continue to work hard as he pursues his intended major of aerospace engineering or mechanical engineering at NC State, ECU, the University of South Carolina, or UNC-Charlotte. So far, he’s been accepted into ECU, the University of South Carolina, and UNC-Charlotte, and is waiting to hear back from NC State. Wherever he ends up, his aptitude for physics and calculus will surely lead to him honing his knowledge of his desired field, perhaps even equipping him to one day build a spaceship.

Get to know Eduardo:

Describe your dream vacation OR if you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

I would live in the Alps of Switzerland.

If you were trapped on a deserted island, what three things would you bring?

A survival guidebook, crop seeds, and a bench.

What is your favorite school event?

Prom

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

Hopefully with a house and a job.

Where is your favorite place and why?

My house, because I can relax.

What are you looking forward to in college?

Having total freedom.