The 17-year-old arrived in Dunedin last week from Wellington, excited to begin her first year of study at the University of Otago.
But what might have been the rushing rapids of the first week of university life have subsided into a pool of isolation.
On Tuesday she learned she had had contact with a close contact of a Covid-19 case.
She went to the Malcolm St testing centre for a PCR test, and was given a rapid antigen test instead.
When she took the test and saw two red lines appear under a C and a T, she knew she had Covid-19.
Ms Ruch is one of hundreds of University of Otago students isolating as an Omicron wave sweeps through Dunedin.
She has taken the university’s advice and remains mostly in her room on the seventh floor of University College’s (UniCol) residential building.
Ms Ruch said she had a headache and dry throat, but otherwise was well.
"I’m not allowed to go in the common room or outside.
"It’s OK for now, but I’ll be isolating for 10 days, and in a few days I might feel differently," Ms Ruch said.
She said she had received a bag containing hand sanitiser, tissues, masks, gloves, and a rubbish bag for meal containers.
Breakfast was delivered every day between 8.40am and 9.30am, lunch at 11.45am, and dinner was at 5pm, she said.
She is eligible for the care packages the university and the Otago University Students Association have begun distributing.
Ms Ruch, who is enrolled in a health sciences programme, said she kept busy by reading science articles about, among other things, experiments concerning nuclear fusion in laboratories.
She had also been telephoning friends.
"I’ve been in touch with seven friends, and they all have Covid-19," she said.
Ms Ruch, who is too young to receive a booster, was taking her positive result in her stride.
Being in a hall with hundreds of people, she had been prepared since the Omicron outbreak began to get sick.
She thought overall the university was doing a good job helping students who were isolating, though she found getting information difficult at first.
"Now that they’ve got a few cases, they’ll figure things out," Ms Ruch said.
A university spokeswoman said there were several hundred students with Covid-19 in North Dunedin.
She said many hundreds more were self-isolating because they were close contacts of someone who had tested positive.
"We are pleased with the large number of students who have gone to get tested.
"The vast majority are doing the right thing and self-isolating," the spokeswoman said.
