Senior social work major Rikki Ruben, seen here as a volunteer at an orphanage in Cuernavaca, Mexico, last year, heads to Chile in a few weeks to offer support to abused and abandoned girls at a shelter in Santiago.

Social work and Spanish studies send senior to South America

Match an inherent need to help others with aspirations to travel and you'll really go places.

Rikki Ruben, a senior social work major and Spanish minor at Northern Arizona University, is getting ready to head to Chile for a program that pairs volunteers with young Chilean females who have been removed from inadequate or unsafe home lives.

Chile caught Ruben's interest when she read about the remarkable gap between its rich and poor.

"I want to help the area's less fortunate get the education and support that benefit their more affluent counterparts," Ruben said.

Her desire to improve the lives of the underprivileged compelled her to travel there so she could mentor abused and abandoned girls at a local shelter in Santiago, the capital.

"In a perfect world, every kid would have a pleasant childhood, but unfortunately so many children are denied that," Ruben said. "I'm going to Chile to help give these girls their lives back, even if it's one child at a time."

The program, called the Young Women's Mentoring Program, is offered by the international organization, Volunteer Adventures.

Ruben will play a role in the lives of girls aged 3 to 18 who have been neglected or mistreated by their families. She, along with other volunteers, hopes to provide insight to a world that the young women and girls have not been able to access before.

"They're getting a chance to rewrite their own destinies," Ruben said.

Ruben will be helping with schoolwork, assisting the staff in organizing the girls' study time, planning recreational activities and just spending time with and listening to the girls. However, Ruben adds that one's presence is most helpful to the young women.

"It's important that they know we are there for them and that they haven't been forgotten about."

Although she is most looking forward to the volunteer experience, the four-week trip also serves as a personal quest of Ruben's to master the Spanish language.

"As an aspiring social worker here in the Southwest, it's crucial for me to be fluent in Spanish because so many organizations are in need of bilingual speakers, and there's only so much you can learn in a classroom," Ruben said. "Plus, I love the possibility of it opening up opportunities for me to travel to all different parts of the world."

While improving her Spanish, Ruben hopes to use her knowledge of social work to bring assistance and comfort to the young Chilean girls. The 21-year-old from Phoenix says she is a perfect fit for the program.

"I've always felt a draw toward helping the helpless," Ruben said. "Because I've been so incredibly fortunate in my own life, I think it's my responsibility to offer my time and help to those in need—especially young people."