Angela Ruggiero - Personal

Personal

After Ruggiero claimed the gold medal at the Nagano Winter Games, she was refused the opportunity to participate in a local game at a rink in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. Despite willing to pay the entry fee, she was advised that only men could participate at the rink. An undercover news crew investigated the matter, and the rink acquiesced to allow women to participate at the rink.

Ruggiero is the author of a memoir, Breaking the Ice: My Journey to Olympic Hockey, the Ivy League & Beyond, published by Drummond Publishing Group in 2005. The book details her hockey career, including her experiences with misconceptions about women's hockey and the challenges of being a female player in a male-dominated sport. She was the former Director of the New York Islanders’ Project Hope, as well as the New York Islanders Children’s Foundation.

She graduated Cum Laude from Harvard University with a B.A. in Government. In May 2006, Ruggiero was selected from a field of twelve Olympians to be a candidate on the sixth season of NBC's business-themed reality game show The Apprentice. The season debuted in January 2007. During Ruggiero's time on the show, many references were made to her Olympic and hockey experience. She was eliminated on the season's tenth episode, airing on March 25, 2007. At the conclusion of her stint on the television show, she was offered a job from Donald Trump.

Ruggiero was a member of a goodwill tour of Olympic athletes that traveled to Afghanistan. In addition, she traveled to Uganda with the Right to Play program. Angela is now enrolled at the University of Minnesota and is pursuing a master's degree in sports management. The objective was to implement a sporting program for children. On October 6, 2011, it was announced that Ruggiero was to be inducted into the National Italian Sports Hall of Fame. Ruggiero was inducted on October 22 in Chicago. EA Sports officially announced that Ruggiero will be among two of the first female hockey "Legends" in their upcoming game NHL 13. Along with Hayley Wickenheiser, she will have a playable character in the game and can be added to any team of the user's choice.