Former student Jen Ruiz '09 is a travel guru.
She is also an author, entrepreneur, and three-time TEDx speaker. She has been featured in the Washington Post, Huffington Post, ABC News, Forbes, Insider, and more. She has traveled the world from Greece to Argentina, Thailand, Iceland, and Jordan. blogs about his adventures and shares tips for traveling on a budget.
She’s the author of six books on topics like how to travel safely alone and how to turn a blog into a business. Most recently, she wrote her memoir, “12 Trips in 12 Months,” which was published by Blackstone Publishing, the same imprint that earlier this year published books by Whoopi Goldberg and Robert Downey Jr. Ruiz and her new book have been featured in news articles, podcasts and even on a Times Square billboard.
How did Ruiz become so famous?
It all started with a personal challenge she set for herself in 2017: to take 12 trips in 12 months. She was just a year away from turning 30, single and wanted to find a good man, get married, travel with her husband and live her life. After a failed relationship that year, she decided to enjoy her life as a single woman to the fullest.
“I didn’t want to be anxious about waiting for love,” Ruiz said. “I wanted to celebrate my life. Every stage of life has its pros and cons. We spend so much time wishing our lives would go away. I asked myself, ‘What’s the benefit of my stage of life?’”
She realized she had time to travel, so she set out on a journey to see the world. The trip changed her life. Not only did she achieve her travel goal (she ended up taking 20 trips), but she also found a new career as a blogger and writer.
Ruiz quit her job as a lawyer to focus full-time on her blog and business. Today, she regularly works with brands that hire her to travel around the world to share her experiences with their followers. She has a long list of partners, including Viking River Cruises (she'll be taking a cruise for the company in Eastern Europe later this year).
Earlier this month, Ruiz returned to FIU for a special event held at Barnes and Noble at MMC’s Graham Center. She and fellow travel blogger Kristi Evans led a conversation about Ruiz’s memoir. Ruiz was welcomed by avid bloggers and aspiring travelers as well as an ardent base of sorority sisters and friends from her alma mater.
“I loved my time at FIU,” said Ruiz, a political science major from the Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs. “I participated in Greek life, Model United Nations and was the at-large representative for the Student Government Association.”
She says her student activities were the best preparation for her current job, from creating marketing plans for her books to securing strong partnerships. “All of these extracurricular activities are basically what I do for a living now. It reminds me of my student council campaigns.”
