LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A teacher at Rancho High School is making history come to life in the classroom.
“I’m big on not just telling my own story but also having the students tell their stories in class,” said Reuben D’Silva. “I think that makes from a great classroom a very engaged and cohesive classroom.”
D’Silva is a veteran and Purple Heart recipient. He served in the Marines and was deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom. While he was there, his unit was attacked, and he was shot in the arm.
“I felt it as soon as I was hit, like 100 pounds of weight, just holding my elbow down. And I couldn't bring my arm up, I couldn't move it,” D’Silva said.
That moment changed D’Silva’s direction in life. Once has out of the military, he decided to continue his life of public service only this time as a teacher. Currently, he uses his personal experience at war to narrate that part of history.
“I think it's important for students to know that even one of their own teachers is not that old, I'm not a Vietnam veteran or from World War II. I mean, I'm a millennial, but I also have served in combat,” D’Silva said.
He says teaching is a continuation of his service to the country.
