Monday, Jul 7, 2025
Scott Ruskan ’21 lauded as ‘American hero’ for first official rescue mission
by Rachel Stengel '14, '20
In his first official mission as a U.S. Coast Guard swimmer and petty officer, Scott Ruskan ’21 rescued nearly 200 people from the deadly flood waters that ravaged central Texas during Fourth of July weekend.
Ruskan was the only triage coordinator at the scene of Camp Mystic, an all-girls camp located along the Guadalupe River, which rose 20 feet in two hours on July 4. He — along with crew members Lieutenant Ian Hopper, Lieutenant Blair Ogujiofor and Petty Officer Seth Reeves — was dispatched from the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station in Corpus Christi, and a roughly one-hour flight became nearly eight because of the severity of the weather, he told Good Morning America.
For his efforts, Ruskan has been praised as an “American hero” by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“I’m getting a lot of the attention for something that I think was expected of me and what every [U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer] would do in my shoes. The real heroes are the crew who flew us into this and the crews still working the mission,” Ruskan wrote on Instagram.
More than 80 people have died in the floods, including adults and children, with dozens still missing, according to the latest reports on July 7.
Ruskan has been serving as an aviation survival technician for the past year, having been fully trained for about six months. These elite rescue swimmers fly on Coast Guard helicopters into challenging situations to save lives and provide emergency medical support, while maintaining survival equipment.
He began his professional career with the U.S. Coast Guard in 2021, after graduating from Rider with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in accounting and competing as a distance runner for the University’s Division I men’s track and field team. In 2020, Ruskan’s enlistment ceremony for the Coast Guard was held on Rider’s campus.