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.