Ceres, CA
UC Davis
Managerial Economics, Spring 2021
Ruben, a talented athlete, excelled at baseball, starting at eight years old. Later on his mother
reluctantly allowed him to add football as she was worried he would hurt himself and that would
affect his baseball performance. As a high school freshman, Ruben started on the Varsity
Baseball team as a second baseman and later a shortstop. He played year round, including
during football season and was team and league MVP as well as captain during his junior and
senior years. On to Cuesta College where he was a member of the baseball team but was forced
to redshirt due to a hinge fracture to his ulna. On a day off he went to the beach then a backyard
pool to relax with friends. A dive into shallow water resulted in immediate paralysis. He
remained conscious while his friends pulled him from the pool as he instructed them how to
stabilize his neck as he had learned in EMT training. While using his athletic training for
rehabilitation he earned two degrees at the community college before moving on to UC Davis to
pursue a degree in Managerial Economics.