On an ideal morning, Giovanna Ruiz would wake up slowly as the sun spilled across her bedroom wall. Wrapped in a lounge set with a warm cup of coffee in hand and her cat Chi Chi curled beside her, she might journal, paint or read, just because she can.
But most mornings aren’t like that. Not when rent is due.
Ruiz, 20, is a junior at Florida International University double majoring in psychology and studio art. She moved to Miami from Texas in June 2023, alone, without family support. She now lives at Fourth Street Commons, a student apartment complex across the street from FIU’s Modesto Maidique campus, where she shares a two-bedroom unit. Her portion of the rent, after utilities, comes out to roughly $1,400 a month…