Employee of the Quarter: the Rubenesque computer guy by Christy K. Robinson "You have reached Dental Computing Services..." is what you'll hear if you get the computer department's voice mail. Ruben Hernandez is The Voice of their voice mail. He's the man who has a friendly wave for his co-workers in the School of Dentistry. He's also the Employee of the Quarter this time around.   Ruben Hernandez   When the award presentation was scheduled, Ruben was working on someone's computer setup, so he was late to his own award, but was appreciative of his friends and co-workers' participation. Ruben said that Dean Goodacre was out of town at the time, but later called Ruben to his office to congratulate him. Ruben was honored and grateful. Ruben was a construction worker for five years before he came to LLUSD. He says he worked on at least half the custom homes in the hills of Loma Linda, learning framing and foundations, electrical and plumbing, roofing, plastering and drywalling. He's used those skills extensively over the years, including remodeling his family's home. He has torn down and rebuilt the roof there, as well as enlarged the garage, and installed windows. He is landscaping the property with more than a dozen palm trees. Ruben enjoys participatory sports, including golf, tennis, and soccer. In addition, he's known as a very good bowler by the Wednesday noon School of Dentistry players. He has been married to Amalia for 17 years, and they have two sons, Ruben, Jr., 13, and Nathan, 9. Ruben, Sr. started in Dental Computing Services in March, 1992, after a few months as a part-time employee. He helps keep the School's many computers functioning properly, supplies some software support, sets up printers and network connections, and de-bugs some of the problems. One of the challenges, he says, is keeping his head when frustrated computer users lose their cool. Says Ruben,"The new computer system is really keeping me busy. When QuickRecovery first came in, we were setting up so many new computers and printers -- it seems that's all there was." Another activity keeping Ruben busy is his patriotism. He has been in the Army National Guard for four years, giving one weekend a month and two weeks each summer to active duty as a Specialist E-4. For the last two and a half years, he has been a chaplain's assistant. "I'm the eyes and ears of the chaplain," says Ruben. "I don't actually give sermons or advice. I just listen to a soldier's problems and go to the chaplain, or accompany the chaplain. In wartime, I'd be the chaplain's bodyguard, and carry a weapon for his security. But for now, I'm heading for a [National Guard] job in the electronics field, working with computers." Here's what co-workers had to say about Ruben when they nominated him for Employee of the Quarter: He is always willing to help out when a crisis arises. He goes the extra mile to solve problems and help us understand the system. Always smiling, even when he is frustrated he stays calm and extremely pleasant. Very professional attitude and demeanor. I feel he is an excellent asset to the University and it would be less productive without him on our team. Ruben deserves a medal for his ongoing calm demeanor in the face of the amount of stress he deals with every day. He is an asset to the department in so many ways and he has deserved this recognition for a long time. Ruben has always gone out of his way to help each employee in our department with their computer problems. He never has a negative attitude, even when we know that he is under stress. He works very hard to make each employee "computer friendly" and always goes the extra mile to be helpful. We need three more of him around the school. He is always willing to help when needed. He is always friendly and doesn't seem bothered when you ask for help. Very pleasant person. Ruben always smiles, does not lose patience, and is always willing to share his knowledge. The smallest problem gets his attention. Ruben has been a joy to work with since he started working here at the School of Dentistry. He deals with the pressures of an extremely busy work environment in a very positive way. Always has a smile - he's a good guy! University | Medical_Center | LLU&MC_home | Search | Employment | News_&_events | Academics | Our_mission | Admissions | Registration | Research | Alumni | Student_resources All contents copyright © 2001 Loma Linda University. All rights reserved. Revised February 28, 2001 Send comments and questions to webmaster@univ.llu.edu  URL: http://www.llu.edu