| Reuben D'Silva is a teacher in the Clark County School District. He was born in Mumbai, India and immigrated to the United States as a toddler. He moved to Las Vegas from New York City with his family at the age of 6. Reuben attended Rancho High School where he served as Senior Class President and graduated in 2003. He was a recipient of the Nevada Millennium Scholarship. Reuben enrolled at the then Community College of Southern Nevada. While a student at CCSN Reuben enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.
He deployed to Iraq in 2007 and saw action in the Al-Anbar province. On the night of June 6th, 2007 while serving as a turret gunner on a re-supply mission in Fallujah Reuben's convoy came under enemy fire while rolling through a narrow city street. Reuben was shot through the arm, but still managed to return fire, suppress the enemy, and aid his fellow Marines escape the kill zone. He was medically evacuated to the United States and spent one year at Balboa Naval Hospital recovering from his wounds. He was awarded both the Purple Heart as well as the Naval Achievement Medal for the events that took place on the night of June 6th, 2007.
After his rehabilitation at Balboa Hospital and subsequent retirement from the Marines, Reuben returned to Las Vegas and started using his GI Bill benefits as a full-time student at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Reuben graduated from UNLV with a bachelor's degree in History and was accepted into the University of Pennsylvania where he completed a master's degree in Global Studies with a focus on the role religion plays in global affairs. After finishing up at the University of Pennsylvania, Reuben entered a second master's program at Yale University where he studied comparative religion and politics.
He graduated from Yale and turned down several East Coast job opportunities to return to Las Vegas. Reuben began teaching history at his alma mater, Rancho High School. At Rancho, Reuben coaches girls' basketball, advises several clubs and promotes college, career, and civic readiness in his classroom. |