Rafael Ruelas

Master of Public Administration 

Rafael Ruelas volunteers with the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.  The USCG Auxiliary is the uniformed volunteer service of the United States Coast Guard.  They support the operation and missions of the US Coast Guard. Rafael was recently elected as Flotilla Commander for his unit 095-35-06, which is essentially the president of the flotilla or chapter.

Rafael says he has always done volunteer work, and as the pandemic was slowing down he wanted to get back into volunteering in his new community. He chose the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary as a way to honor his brother, who was a Coastguardsman up until his untimely passing in 2017.

Rafael shared that there is a tie-in to his Public Administration program. As Flotilla Commander he is in charge of drafting and submitting the yearly budget, developing the year’s goals and specific mission focuses for the Flotilla, and manages 60+ shipmates of Flotilla 095-35-06, Six Chicago. 

He was also recently appointed to the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary National Staff as Branch Chief of Administrative Support for Public Affairs (A) Directorate. In this role he functions as the Chief of Staff for the A-Directorate, which has the largest staff of any of the 18 National Directorates. 

Rafael says he has already been able to put his Public Administration learning into practice, and he’s not quite halfway through the program. He’s certain he will continue to incorporate his Purdue Global learning into his duties as an Auxiliarist.