WT in the Community: Ruby Bitzer Shares Her Experience Overcoming Adversity to Inspire Youth
Published: December 9, 2024
Ruby Bitzer knows that it takes a strong work ethic and inner motivation to make it in the legal profession. She earned her Juris Doctor with distinction from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, passed the Bar Exam, and became a successful litigator with over a decade of experience inside and outside the courtroom.
Unlike many attorneys, Ruby also knows how difficult it is to achieve that success without positive role models or guidance to help along the way. Having grown up in the foster care system, Ruby worked full-time through college and law school without stable family support. Now she shares her background with youth living in adverse situations such as foster care and juvenile detention to inform, inspire, and assist them in their journeys.
“It is extremely difficult for kids without family in professional careers and without generational networks to move up and out of their situations,” said Ruby. “I want to show kids that they have a way forward and be part of the bridge that leads them there.”
As a board member for Surviving The Odds Project (STOP), a Bay Area nonprofit that engages underserved youth in musical self-expression and a volunteer mentor and speaker for local juvenile detention halls, Ruby invests her time and skills to guide and inspire at-risk youth.
“Investing in the underserved youth of our community, providing resources and education, learning and relearning social, academic, and professional skills, can unlock a vast resource of future community participants, professionals, and leaders,” Ruby said.
Ruby has spoken at the Sacramento County and Folsom Youth Detention Facilities (YDF), to demonstrate to residents that they, too, can achieve great things despite their current hardships. View a feature of Ruby at the Sacramento YDF on page 17 of their newsletter, here.