USD Magazine Fall 2005

KENDRA

HOFFMAN-CURRY

I t’s hard to imagine Kendra Hoffman-Curry as being any- thing other than supremely self-possessed. Eloquent, fashion- able and down-to-earth, Hoffman- Curry shudders when she recalls her first few weeks as a freshman. “When I came here, I was wor- ried that I’d walk into the wrong class. It’s pretty terrifying getting used to everything,” she recalls. “But now getting around is a whiz. It’s funny how fast that changes.” Beyond learning the ropes, she had some academic chal- lenges to overcome. “First semes- ter I had a hard time adjusting,” she admits. “I have dyslexia, test anxiety and ADD.” But by April, she was able to obtain the neces- sary documentation that allowed her concessions such as not being graded on spelling, and taking tests and finals separately from other students. Although he ran cross country in high school, he opted not to go out for the team at USD. “Science majors have to work really hard to keep the grades up,” he says. “Running cross country won’t make me $100,000 a year, but academics will.“ Still, there’s time for fun, at least on the weekends. “During the week, I wake up, go to the gym and go to class,” Rutz explains. “I can’t risk going out at night and not being able to function the next day.” But when the stress piles up, he’s ready to hit the road with his friends and blow off some steam. That’s when he and the guys go camping, head to the beach, go

MATT RUTZ

Rutz has come a long way in a year. As a campus newbie, he had to call his mom long-distance to get the lowdown on whether one should wash whites in cold or hot water. But now he’s got it down. “I am awesome at laundry,” he says with pride. “I also cook.” Though it irks him that he was unaware that an “A-minus” counts for less in his GPA than an “A,” and he wound up with a 3.76 for his first semester, Rutz’s long term goals are solid. “Medical schools don’t look at pluses and minuses. So in their eyes, at least, I still have a 4.0.” Still, it rankles. “My high school GPA was 5.18.” He shrugs, trying to let it go. This is a young man who most definitely knows what he wants.

D etermined? Check. suspects that when Matt Rutz decides he wants something, Matt Rutz gets it. “When I was a little kid, I’d always get 100 percent for sci- ence on those standardized tests,” the square-jawed Rutz recalls. “When I took the ACT, I didn’t study and I didn’t do any test preps — and my science score was 31 out of 36.” Although seemingly prepared for collegiate life, in some ways Focused? Check. Hard- working? Check. One

Rutz was caught unaware. “In high school you didn’t have finals junior or senior year if you had 100 percent attendance,” he recalls. “So when I came here, I was really scared of finals. But I prepared for the worst and hoped for the best.” He takes a breath and smiles. “It worked out fine.” Now he’s charging full-speed ahead up the pre-med path and intends to wind up as a physician for the NFL or an orthopedic surgeon. “Anything with sports. I love the physiology of the human body.”

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