Amanda Ruboyianes

How long have you worshiped at Saint Philip’s?
Since 2024.
 
Were you raised in a faith tradition?
I was raised very Roman Catholic. I lived in a small town close to Gary, Indiana, and everyone I knew was Roman Catholic. Both my parents went to Catholic colleges and my grandma ran the religious store at church. My grandpa was a mason and built our church. I went to Catholic school.
 
How did you find your way to the Episcopal Church?
Parishioners Kyle and Karen Dresback are good friends and they thought we would like it here. They were right!
 
What do you appreciate about Saint Philip’s?
Everyone is so nice and it feels very welcoming. There are a lot of ways to participate and be part of the community.
 
How are you involved with the parish?
In July I help with Vacation Bible School. And throughout the year I serve on the Preservation & Endowment (P&E) Board.
 
I also volunteer with other volunteers on the First Friday of every month at the Prince Elementary School food pantry. That’s something near and dear to me; it’s very important.
 
What makes it so important to you?
I grew up volunteering a lot with St. Vincent de Paul Society. And I grew up pretty poor so now that my life is very different, I am grateful for the opportunity to give back. The food pantry helped me as a child and now I can serve others who need that same kind of help.
 
You’re very busy. What inspires you to find time to volunteer?
Even though we didn’t have a lot of money it was instilled in me that we could still help other people. It was just something my five older siblings and I did.
 
When I graduated from college I thought I’d work for a nonprofit. But I had student loans so I got a job in sales—and enjoyed the money. I found a way to merge the two and worked with nonprofits.
 
What’s the biggest change in your life from this time last year?
I sold my insurance business and became a farmer.
 
That has to have a story! Please explain.
My professional career began by selling payroll services. That’s how Troy and I met; I was his payroll representative.
 
After five years of that I had the unexpected opportunity to take over an insurance agency. I had clients in 40 states and got to meet many amazing people.
 
Ironically, insurance always bored me so I did a lot of risk management work. I wrote cris management plans and policies, procedures, bylaws, and also did a lot of training about best practices for Boards.
 
I did school shooter training for all my clients—one of whom was Future Farmers of America. Its annual conference had 65,000 attendees and my agency planned for what to do if there is a weather crisis, what if a child goes missing, etc. 
 
It was great and wonderful for 12 years but ultimately the travel took its toll. We decided to sell two years ago.
 
Where does the farm come in?
For the first year after selling the business I did some consulting and training. And then we learned about a farm that was available. I was obsessed with getting it. We purchased it a year and a half ago.
 
Was having a farm a long-standing dream?
Not at all. We had a garden in our backyard growing up but that was it.
 
But I’ve volunteered at the Tucson Village Farm (TVF) for seven years. That’s how I learned food can grow in the desert. And I’m on the Board of the Pima County Cooperative Extension (which operates as a parent to TVF).
 
What kind of a farm do you have?
We have nine acres and harvest a third of it for market. We’ve partnered with two of our neighbors so our collective—the Woodland Road Farmers Coop—has 20 acres.
 
Our space used to be a horse training facility so we’re working to convert the horse pastures to growing rows. We grow greens, baby lettuce, spinach, kale, carrots. Right now we’re planting for spring. In the winter we plant root veggies, think beets and turnips. We finished up broccoli and cauliflower last week.
 
We also have 120 pecan trees and 12 apple trees. I’ve started planting other fruit trees to be aligned with the seasons.
 
Who harvests what you grow?
My single employee and I do. The pecan trees hadn’t been cared for very well so we didn’t harvest all of them. But even so, we got 1,000 pounds!
 
Where do you sell your harvest?
We’ve been at the Rillito Farmers Market since January. We have a lot of regulars; it’s fun.
 
How do you feel about your choice to switch careers?
It’s a different world from insurance. Yes, I used to make much better money, but there’s nothing better than pulling up a carrot and knowing my hard work paid off.
 
Most people don’t know where their food comes from. I’ve met at least five people at the farmer’s market who didn’t know that brussel sprouts grow on a stalk.
 
I would love to do classes and teach people.
 
I almost forgot to mention that we have two mini cows. We’re doing a fencing project and will probably breed one of them to get a total of three.

What’s something that really challenges you?
My kids sometimes. They’re 12 and 9.
 
And going from insurance to farming has asked me to engage my science muscle. You look at a plant and have to ask what nutrient is missing. There’s a lot of science!
 
What motivates you to persevere?
For better or worse, I get bored when things are really easy. I’d rather have a good 5 minute cry about something being hard and then try again and figure it out.

Your family has two mottos, right?
We do. They’re complete opposites of each other: “Raise hell” and “Make good choices.”
 
They stem from having daughters. I want them to be good people but they need to learn how to take care of themselves. They shouldn’t be rude but they need to know they have autonomy. They should stand up for themselves—and do it nicely.

What gets better as you get older?
Understanding that most things aren’t about me. People are in their own worlds so I can let go of any worry about how I’m perceived.

What’s something you wouldn’t miss if it went away?
Email! I would rather schlep cow poop than check my email. I think it stems from when I had my insurance agency. Most clients were on the east coast so I would wake up every morning to at least 100 emails. And my experience is that one email feels like it creates five more. There’s never any end to it.

Is there a rule you regularly break?
I’m always late for everything. I always think I have more time than I do.
 
What do you do to relax and replenish yourself?
I have a kitchen garden that I have zero expectations for. Because there’s no goal, it doesn’t matter if nothing grows.
 
I plant whatever the kids want. Yesterday we planted three beds of strawberries. If they yield five strawberries the kids will be super excited. That’s very replenishing.
 
And I love to do crafts. Any second I can do embroidery I will. That’s very relaxing.

What’s something you’re proud of?
I’m proud of my girls. Parenting is hard and scary but they’re turning into amazing people.
 
And I’m proud that even though insurance was easy in a lot of ways and something stable, I was able to walk and give the farm a shot.
 
What’s one of your super powers?
I hope I’m good at including people and helping them feel part of something and appreciated.
 
What’s one of your core values?
Consideration for others. Another one is to accept others as they are. People should be celebrated for being themselves.

What’s something you know now that your younger self didn’t?
Not everything is as serious as I once thought. I’ve learned not to get as riled up about things that don’t really matter.

What’s something about you that friends have said they really appreciate?
That I always invite everybody to everything.

What’s something you haven’t done that you’d still like to?
I love to travel; we hope to visit Japan this fall.
 
I finished my teacher training for yoga right before we bought the farm and got a bit sidetracked. I’d love to go to India and do yoga for a month.