Steve Ruff's friendly face, calm demeanor and kind ways make him seem like a good buddy who you've known forever – not surprising, considering he's been a part of the Baylor College of Dentistry family for 30 years.

Ruff, a dental laboratory technician II in oral and maxillofacial surgery/pharmacology, works in the Center for Maxillofacial Prosthodontics. His job requires patience and careful attention to detail.

"I work the case from start to finish," he said, explaining what he likes most about his duties. "Not just the normal everyday cases but the complicated ones, such as cancer, accident victims, birth deformities and diseases."

Ruff describes his job as "challenging, self-fulfilling, gratifying and very rewarding."

He credits his current abilities to the skills he developed very early in his career at the college, when BCD had a joint maxillofacial clinic with Baylor University Medical Center in its Sammons Cancer Center in the late 1970s.

"I learned a lot of skills pertaining to the work that I do today," said Ruff. "Some of the best memories of working at the dental school come from not only the type of work I did but also the people with whom I worked during that time."

Ruff recalls a time when his co-workers truly endeared themselves to him. "We had a heavy rain, and the parking lot where I had parked was flooded," he explained. "I tried to drive my car out to the street, but then it popped up like a cork.

"My car would have floated away if some fellow employees had not been around to rescue me."

That was before BCD had a parking garage.  Another change Ruff has observed is the size of the building. "The facilities have more than doubled in size since I first started work in 1973," he said.

When Ruff has time to relax and enjoy life away from BCD, he likes to hunt, fish and garden. He also enjoys spending time with his wife, Debbie. She has made his career at BCD even more rewarding: he met her here. She is a procurement specialist in purchasing.

"We both enjoy working here," he said.
 

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