June 5 will be a banner day for Ruth Daniela Ayala Terrazas, as the member of the class of 2025 at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, Maryland, celebrates her graduation day and her birthday.
“I’ll be 18 with my diploma!” she said, smiling. “…The fact that those two dates line up is amazing.”
Ayala Terrazas has been attending Stone Ridge for 11 years, starting as a second grader and progressing through the Lower School, Middle School and Upper School sponsored by the Religious of the Sacred Heart.
“I do really consider Stone Ridge as my second home,” she said, praising the support she’s received from the school’s teachers and the staff and the friends that she’s made across the different grade levels there.
The resident of Adelphi, Maryland, credits her immigrant parents for teaching her to “have curiosity and be open-minded… and don’t be afraid to do the hard work.” Her father, Alfredo Ayala, is originally from El Salvador and works in construction, and her mother, Yancarla Terrazas, a native of Bolivia, works as a household personal assistant. The Stone Ridge senior has two younger sisters, and her family members are parishioners at St. Camillus in Silver Spring.
At Stone Ridge, Ayala Terrazas is part of the first cohort of students eligible to receive a Global Studies Certificate from the school. She has participated in intercultural activities there and joined school trips to Venice and Japan.
“I have naturally gravitated to activities and classes with a global focus,” she said, noting the importance of “fostering that sense of global community. We need that more than ever today.”
Ayala Terrazas is a co-leader of the Upper School’s Hispanic cultural group, Unidas. Later that week, the group members were going to have a salsa dancing class with students at nearby Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda.
She added that participating in campus ministry, including serving as an altar server and lector at school Masses, helped keep her grounded in her faith.
“It (my Catholic faith) is something that’s so fundamental to me, in the sense of who I am,” said Ayala Terrazas, who noted that one of the goals of a Sacred Heart education is “a personal and active faith in God.”
Another favorite Sacred Heart goal for her is “personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom,” and she pointed out how her classmates bonded together after returning to school following the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.
In Stone Ridge’s Social Action Program, Ayala Terrazas volunteered with A Wider Circle, which collects furniture and household items for families in need, and with Bikes for the World, which collects and repairs bicycles to distribute to people in developing countries. She also helped out at Leashes End, a pet sanctuary and rescue program with outreach that includes caring for pets that are seriously ill or that were owned by elderly people who could no longer care for them.
“The one thing I learned at that site is how precious life is,” she said.
During her years at the school, Ayala Terrazas participated in theater, which she said offered her “a space to build my confidence and sense of community as an actor, assistant director and mentor behind the scenes.” She also ran cross country and was a manager for the team. In her free time, she likes to listen to podcasts and make handmade gifts with paper quilling.
This fall, Ayala Terrazas will be attending the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she might major in political science, preparing her for “maybe working for the federal government. Law school is not off the table. I’m keeping my options open,” she said.
As her graduation and birthday neared, the Stone Ridge senior said, “I’m grateful and excited.” Ayala Terrazas expressed gratitude for her school’s supportive community and the friends she made there, and anticipation for what her future holds.
“They want to see me succeed, and I want to make them proud,” she said.
