Ruffa pursues grad school after finishing college at 48

MANILA, Philippines — Why did Ruffa Gutierrez go straight to graduate school after earning her college diploma at the age of 48?

A couple of months back, the TV host and actress officially graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Arts from the Philippine Women’s University under the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP).

Immediately after, the former beauty queen was back in school pursuing a Master’s degree in Communication Arts. Finishing school was one of her realizations during the pandemic.

“I had a lot of realizations during the pandemic. First of all was to finish my studies which I did. After 34 years, I was able to complete my education and I’m finally a college graduate. For the longest time, I was just a high school graduate,” Ruffa shared.

“I remember every time, my friends from abroad would ask me, oh what did you graduate from, what’s your college? I’d say, oh, I just finished high school, it’s OK, I’ve been working since I was 13, I’m street smart. It was always like that, we’d always compensate. But now, I told myself I have to finish my schooling and I decided to continue and so I’m now taking my Masters now. I think there’s a lot of opportunities that can be done and I think this is just one of them out there. And it’s really (about) right timing,” she added.

As for decision to do grad studies, she’s simply in it for more personal growth. “I know everyone is saying, parang tama na college graduate ka na, bakit mo pa pinagpatuloy? Because I wanna take up executive courses and some of my professors say, why does it have to be executive courses, why don’t you do and finish your Masters? Go for a Master’s degree. Hinahanap-hanap ko rin. Yung growth, learning, reading and I think it’s also important to surround ourselves with people that push you further, you know, people who like the same things that you do,” she explained.

“(In this way,) I wouldn’t be confined to the entertainment industry… I’m learning a lot. And it’s really interesting. So, I now have to prepare for my thesis.”

Ruffa also believes her further studies will serve her well as she becomes the CEO of her own lifestyle brand, Gutz and Glow, her new business venture with Skin Solutions. The brand name is inspired by the Gutierrez showbiz family’s reality show It Takes Gutz To Be A Gutierrez. It also take “guts” to step out of her comfort zone, which is the entertainment industry, she said.

“We can’t be an artista forever, although I enjoy it since I’ve been acting since I was 13… I think it’s really (about) developing ourselves more and just not stopping from dreaming big,” she said.

Although Ruffa went into film production in the past, this is the first time she has dipped her hands in a business outside of showbiz. “Business is something that I enjoy doing. And I think beauty really falls with what I love and taking care of ourselves, our skin and wellbeing,” she said.

In 2019, Ruffa was already about to launch products with Skin Solutions. “I was really specific with what I wanted and then things happened. I got busy and the pandemic came along. We decided to meet again, why don’t we launch something that is really essential in our lives?”

So, under Gutz and Glow, she decided to offer timely, functional and cost-efficient products such as the hand sanitizer, hand cream, hand soap, feminine wipes, makeup remover wipes, butt and body scrub. These are initially made available through distributors.

Maricor Monton Flores, Skin Solutions CEO, serves as the business partner of Ruffa. Asked what was her pitch to Ruffa that convinced the latter to partner with them, Ruffa said, “First of all, you need trust. You have to trust the person you’re working with and I know that she’s a God-fearing individual, she’s very successful and I think we just click as friends.”

Maricor, on the other hand, said that they didn’t have problems collaborating with the former beauty queen because she’s “very hands-on and she knows what she wants, she’s very straightforward… and if she puts her name on a product, it has to be credible, highly functional and effective without compromising the price.”

“We know that for you to appreciate the product and use it on a prolonged basis, it has to be very effective and cost-efficient. So, we really targeted that — the things that she really wanted (to have) with her brand. In short, it’s easier and empowering to work with someone who already knows what she wants and not have us second-guessing her.”

Meanwhile, Ruffa said this new direction in life — being a brand CEO and taking up grad studies — has also inspired her daughters, Lorin and Venice.

“I think they’re very inspired because my eldest daughter (Lorin), who’s now a sophomore in Pepperdine University, she’s in the States now, will also be launching her own brand in 2023. I think both my daughters are really inclined to do… I guess the beauty industry, the fashion industry is what they want. Venice may be 18 and she already wants to launch different products but we have to talk about this in the future,” she said.

“I also think I inspired them a lot in terms of finishing their education. I want to show them that if Mommy was able to do it, you also need to finish school. I’ve worked so hard as a single mom, sabi ko yun lang ang gusto kong gift niyo sa akin — to finish school.

“You know, they have so many offers to join show business. As a matter of fact, Lorin is under Viva Entertainment as well and she was supposed to be launched this month but (she’s really determined) to finish her sophomore year because importante yung meron kang pinag-aralan. Especially now in showbiz, I mean, stars come and go, the turnover is so fast, unlike the artistas back in the day, when they ruled as kings and queens for decades.

“So, for me, importante na meron silang pinag-aralan or something to fall back on in the future. Anyway, if you have the talent and the interest, I think the doors will be opened for them in the industry,” she ended.