Zoey Ruderman, 14, of Temecula is an 8th-grade student in Springs’ iShine program who is also a successful actress. She has been acting for eight years, and has an agent. She was most recently featured in a Hallmark anti-bullying commercial and a Facebook Super Bowl commercial. She has also done a Toys R Us commercial and films for film festivals. She added, “My dream is to do a horror film.”
She has been attending Springs for seven years. She “loves” Springs, she said, because “the programs are great. I love the flexible curriculum. They allow kids to pursue interests outside of school.”
iShine is “absolutely incredible.” She explained, “It has a family environment where everybody is kind and knows your name. It feels very safe, clean, organized and happy. The staff is caring and brilliant. The teachers are amazing.”
She has earned perfect scores on her CAASP test for the past four years, she said, “because the teachers are gifted educators … the teachers have encouraged me to keep pushing myself and to not settle and be bored. I am always advancing.”
When she is auditioning and acting, she can work in the car on drives to Los Angeles auditions and during breaks on the set. She said, “iShine is extremely organized because my assignments are online so I can get my work done after auditions without falling behind. The teachers are helpful and email me assignments and they answer any questions I have.”
Acting is hard work, she said, and without connections, jobs are difficult to get. However, “The actual acting job is a ton of fun. Meeting new interesting people on sets is a blast. I love bringing a character to life. Reading a part and giving it a voice and face is the best.”
Her other interests include tumbling, hip hop dance, soccer, swimming, basketball, hiking, yoga and Pilates. She is also part of the iShine volleyball team. She hopes to be a physician once she finishes school. She said, “I want to help people. I think being a pediatrician would be fulfilling as an occupation.”
Read more about Zoey here.
