USD Magazine Fall 2005

Hoffman-Curry points to join- ing her sorority, Gamma Phi Beta, as the highlight of her year. “As a freshman, it’s hard to meet upper classmen, but I’ve met so many girls,” she says, laughing. “It’s an opportunity to meet a lot of people so you can make friends.” Her pragmatism is refreshing. “This year the focus was on get- ting good grades and realizing I needed to be comfortable in this new life,” she says. “It was an assimilation process.” Now that she’s adapted to campus life, Hoffman-Curry vows to keep it real: “I don’t want to lose sight of what’s important and get too wrapped up in fun.” Toward that end, she got involved in the Just Cause club, which aims to make sure that corporations USD partners with have fair working practices. She also worked retail for several months , and juggled two part- time jobs this summer: inputting checks for one company and delivering dogs for her mom’s pet grooming business. No biggie. “Hey, I have a single mom who owns her own busi- ness. I need to show her how much I appreciate and respect the fact that she sent me here.” snorkeling, whatever. It was on one of those forays into the out- side world that he got an up-close look at what his chosen career might entail when he witnessed a car accident. “This woman’s wrist was split to the bone from the wrist to the elbow. Even though I’d never seen an open wound, it didn’t make me queasy,” he says. Luckily, a passing doctor helped take care of the victim until an ambu- lance arrived. Rutz did what he could to help out and came away more sure than ever that he’s on the right path. “Nothing freaked me out,” he recalls with a smile. “I was solid.”