![\"Danielle](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image.ashx.png\"\/)
\nPhoto provided by Danielle Ruffin<\/p>\n
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\n May 12, 2025
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Danielle Ruffin sat in her dorm room at the University of Hartford as she watched the 2008 WNBA draft on her computer. All of a sudden, her heart started to race. She started to panic and just couldn\u2019t absorb what happened. In the third round of the draft, she heard her name get called out. The Atlanta Dream selected the then-21-year-old as the overall 32nd pick in the 2008 WNBA draft, making her dream of becoming a professional basketball player come true.<\/p>\n
Everything started in the rural and quiet Westchester, New York, where Ruffin grew up together with her parents and brother.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom was a flight attendant when I was younger, and my dad worked for the UN. We went everywhere, to the Philippines and Amsterdam; I saw so many places. It was just a really good childhood,\u201d said Ruffin.<\/p>\n
In addition to her world travels, Ruffin spent her childhood playing sports. Sports have always been something she was good at, but her talent for basketball was special. From a very early age, Ruffin realized her potential and started spending endless hours playing basketball with her coach and mentor, Jerome Harris.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would be outside all the time. If it snowed, I would have to shovel the snow first and then play basketball. It was intense, it was no joke,\u201d said Ruffin. \u201cHe really played a big role in my going farther than most.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hard work paid off. In 2004, Ruffin got a call from Jennifer Rizzotti, the University of Hartford\u2019s former women\u2019s basketball head coach, who offered her a spot on the roster and a full ride.<\/p>\n
\nPhoto provided by Danielle Ruffin<\/p>\n
The following four years were like a dream for her. Her team made it to March Madness three out of her four collegiate seasons while breaking multiple school records.<\/p>\n
In 2008, an even bigger dream came true for Ruffin when the Atlanta Dream selected her, and a few moments later, her phone rang. It was former WNBA All-Star player Teresa Weatherspoon, her idol.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t ask me how she got my number. She was like my Kobe Bryant when I was younger. I was through the roof when she called to congratulate me. It was the best feeling ever,\u201d said Ruffin.<\/p>\n
As quickly as her dream of playing in the WNBA started, it was over again. After two months, Atlanta decided to end their contract, leaving Ruffin open to sign with CAB Madeira, a EURO League team in Portugal.<\/p>\n
Ruffin made lifelong memories in Madeira. Through basketball, she traveled extensively, visiting countries like Greece, Spain and Italy. Unfortunately, injuries stopped her from a big career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI played a season there and that was kind of it for me with basketball. I said to myself, I\u2019m done, I want to start a family, which is hard to do overseas,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Today, Ruffin is 38 years old, married, has two children and is currently enrolled in Drexel\u2019s Accelerated Career Entry (ACE) BSN program to follow her new dream of becoming a nurse.<\/p>\n
![\"Danielle](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/_DSC5437-2.ashx.jpeg\"\/)
\nPhoto by Raphael Bartell, communications ’27<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing my grandparents age, seeing them pass away, going through that process, really helped me to get into health care,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Once her children were old enough, Ruffin realized that it was the perfect moment to go back to school for a second degree in nursing.<\/p>\n
Drexel\u2019s ACE program allows students who already have a bachelor\u2019s degree to get another bachelor\u2019s in nursing in 11 months. For Ruffin, who graduated with a communication degree from the University of Hartford, Drexel was the perfect fit for where she was in her life.<\/p>\n
\u201cTime was the biggest issue for me,\u201d said Ruffin. \u201cBeing able to finish your degree in 11 months is just unique, and my experience at Drexel has been great so far.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruffin is currently in her third of four quarters at Drexel, and she has felt an immediate change when continuing her education after a 16-year break.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that coming back to school now, it works! I\u2019m focused, I\u2019m paying for this, I\u2019m not on a full ride, but I feel like I\u2019m getting my money\u2019s worth. I do! Drexel was the best decision I could have made,\u201d Ruffin volunteered.<\/p>\n
While maintaining a full-time class schedule, Ruffin is gaining valuable clinical experience, something she was looking for when applying to schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is great to have so many different types of clinical sites, like cancer centers, or working in pediatrics, or with the older populations,\u201d said Ruffin, who feels prepared when going on her 12-hour clinical shifts thanks to Drexel\u2019s hands-on classes.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter what the scenario is \u2014 working with manikins or patient actors \u2014 I think the simulation labs are a very valuable resource for me because I take that feedback, positive or negative, and apply it in the real world,\u201d she shared.<\/p>\n
Even though Ruffin\u2019s professional basketball career was 16 years ago, she still applies the mindset Coach Jerome Harris instilled in her long ago. Just like she remembers tirelessly shooting hoops in the Bronx, she is now using that discipline to work on her new dream of becoming a nurse. And for that dream, Ruffin is working just as hard. She is attending multiple classes, doing homework and studying for quizzes and midterms, working 12-hour shifts at clinical sites three times a week and caring for her family. \u201cI don\u2019t really know where I want to land in the future, I just know that I\u2019m used to working hard, so I\u2019m looking forward to doing it with this type of purpose, helping people,\u201d Ruffin concluded.<\/p>\n
Written by Raphael Bartell, communications ’27<\/p>\n
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May 12, 2025
Danielle Ruffin sat in her dorm room…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":398259,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-398258","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=398258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/398259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=398258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=398258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}