Featured Friday: Ruth Mecke-Lozano '24
"I love how there are so many cultures here! My parents are originally from Mexico, so I’m used to having many different cultures around me. I’m glad to go to a school that has so many."
Ruth is a seventh grader in the Middle School. She is originally from Boerne, TX, and moved to the area after her family worked as missionaries in Haiti for two years. Her family moved to the area to serve as missionaries at a local Catholic retreat center. Until coming to Rabun Gap, she was homeschooled. Ruth is in her first year at Rabun Gap and is involved in softball, cirque, and knitting during student enrichment time.
Why did you choose to attend Rabun Gap?
My parents and grandparents really wanted me to have a good education. I have always been homeschooled and they wanted to put me in a good school where I wouldn’t be bullied or have a hard time catching up with other students — where I would have fun and learn.
What makes Rabun Gap special?
Rabun Gap is special because you don’t feel scared to meet new people. You make new friends every day and become better friends. I love how there are so many cultures here! My parents are originally from Mexico, so I’m used to having many different cultures around me. I’m glad to go to a school that has so many.
What's your favorite thing about Middle School?
I love how I’m not scared to be myself. I can be who I am at home and at school. I’m a better friend because of that.
What's your favorite memory so far?
In Coach J’s history class - he asked, “Who said ‘You can go to hell but I am going to Texas?’” I answered that it was George Strait, but the answer was Davy Crockett. Our whole class started laughing - I turned bright red and started laughing, too. He has it posted on his bulletin board and it makes me laugh when I see it.
Which teachers or coaches have had the most impact on you so far?
Definitely Coach J and Coach Wheeler, who is my softball coach. Coach J keeps telling me to be myself and not worry about what other people think. Coach Wheeler, when I miss a ball or don’t swing and get a strike, she tells me it doesn’t matter - just to have fun.
Tell us something interesting about yourself that we wouldn’t otherwise know:
I lived in Haiti, a third world country, for two years. We were foreign missionaries. We are Catholic, so we would have Masses, morning prayer and night prayer with the people around us. I got to learn a whole different language - Creole - and was fluent in it.
What interests do you pursue outside the classroom?
I enjoy doing dance and art. I also babysit - I love kids and being around them. Sometimes I’ll hold people’s babies during church.
Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School
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Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School is a private, coeducational day and boarding school for grades Pre-K through 12. Centrally located between Atlanta, GA, Greenville, SC, and Asheville, NC, we prepare young people for college, career, and a lifetime of leadership and service.
