“Genius,” “intellect,” and “Einstein” are words that have been used to describe Perry Meridian sophomore David Ruat. He is also described as “rather reserved,” but carries a quiet confidence with him.

He is a tennis player, cellist, math league standout and is the class of ‘26 secretary. Ruat is a busy man, but his passion is math. He uses math as a creative outlet, being able to see it as more than just numbers. His ability to talk endlessly about solving theorems, the Fibonacci sequence and applications of math to the real world bears his love for numbers.

“[What] I really enjoy most about mathematics is this ability to just figure stuff out yourself,” Ruat said, “the complexity of it, but also the progression.”

His interest first began during the COVID-19 pandemic. He explored YouTube videos that broke down complex problems and concepts. Through the hours of videos, he took complex problems and made them extensions of his own “common sense.”

While he delved into math on his own, Perry Meridian Middle School teacher Patrick Carlson lit Ruat’s passion on fire. “He’s just driven, he’s motivated, he wants to get better, he wants to take it all in,” said Carlson via phone interview.

Now, as a sophomore, Ruat is taking the second year of AP Calculus, a class usually reserved for seniors, and is planning to take even higher-level math classes while still in high school. Ruat uses math as a place to explore and clear his mind. Ruat finds clarity working on his monthly math problem he sets for himself, “it’s the concept that there exists an answer that I have yet to find [that] makes it like a scavenger hunt.”

With his notoriety comes a standard that people expect. “The fact that I exist spreads around… [and people] expect some super genius that computes everything in half a millisecond.” While he has felt expectations and pressure, he has learned to deal with it by choosing, by his own words, “willful ignorance” and pretends to be just another kid in class. Rather being known as just ‘the smart kid.’

Ruat’s good friend Zalian Hualngo said it best, “He’s just like us, [a kid] who’s trying to find their place in this world.” Last year’s Float Your Boat “Best Spirit” award was spear-headed by Ruat. His constant cheering, emphatic yelling and spirited rendition of the National Anthem brought his team, StuVo+1, to the coveted award.

While all of his hobbies connect back to his passion for math, Ruat’s interests are varied far and wide. His excitement in pursuit of exploration takes him from the depths of Wikipedia, to hopefully, one day a mission trip with Hualngo to Panama.

While some people find a math genius who talks like an essay intimidating, David Ruat wants to be known not just as something different, but something more. “[I want to be known as] a kid that used his talents effectively rather than just keeping it in the school building.”

His peers and mentors agree. Carlson said, “David is going to get to pick what he wants to do, I hope it’s something that he likes, but yet, helps other people too. Whether it be some sort of technology or engineering, or whatever the case may be. Whatever he decides to do is great, I just hope he uses his intelligence to, spread the wealth so to speak, to other people, and give of himself.”