In this episode we meet Jolene Ruiz an aspiring professional dancer who auditioned for 10 years before making a competitive team. She shares her grit and passion to continue pursuing her dream and challenging herself to improve after every audition. We discuss the importance of mindset and language as Jolene shares the best piece of advice she received. Jolene is the co-founder of a non-profit organization called The Full Out Foundation which aims to empower students through cheer and dance. We talk about the importance of nurturing children's big dreams and teaching essential skills like time management, discipline, and hard work. She shares her struggle with dreaming big growing up as a first and second generation American as well as how suppressing her emotions held her back. 

Jolene Ruiz is the Board President for Full Out Foundation a nonprofit that serves students in the La Puente School District by providing elite cheer and dance training along with academic support. She is from Southern California where she is a wife, granddaughter, daughter, sister, cousin, God Mother, and friend. She danced professionally, even spent time dancing in Mumbai, India, and has worked in a variety of fields including skincare, professional sports, and academia. She is currently the interim Student Life Coordinator at a community college in northern California and a student at Cal Baptist University studying to earn her Master’s in Sport and Performance Psychology and become a Certified Mental Performance Consultant.

You can learn more about the organization at: https://www.fulloutfoundation.org/ and she can be reached at [email protected] and on Instagram @mrs.jolene.r