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When Bill Rueb, ’63, sits down at
his desk, he might take a call from the
Department of Defense. He might
phone Moscow or review his notes on
weapons-grade plutonium before catching
the morning flight to Washington,
D.C. But what he is ultimately doing is
making the world a safer place.

Rueb crafts strategies to dismantle
weapons of mass destruction remaining
in the former Soviet Union from the
era of Cold War arms proliferation.
Working closely with the U.S. government
through the Cooperative Threat
Reduction Program, he submits proposals
about abolishing stockpiles of
nuclear, chemical or biological weapons
and the missiles that carry them.

“The Nunn-Lugar Act, which is
now the Cooperative Threat Reduction
Program, began in 1991 as a way to
help the former Soviet republics dismantle their weapons of mass destruction,”
said Rueb, who works for Washington
Group International, one of five companies
that vies for contracts to reduce
such arsenals. “Every project is different,
but our goal is to eradicate those chemical,
biological and nuclear agents.”

Take an average month for Rueb:
attending the U.S.-Russia Business

Council meeting to find out about
upcoming projects, working to eliminate
intercontinental ballistic missiles in
the Ukraine and developing a plan to
dispose of plutonium in Russia.

“The best part of my job is working
to advance society, to advance the
policies of the United States,” said
Rueb, who has worked with the federal
government in some capacity for almost
three decades. “When I started my
career, I was doing fuze design for rockets
and then I was at the Department of Energy, which was actually constructing nuclear weapons. Now, I am in the business of
destroying weapons. My career has
gone through the whole cycle, from
designing to building to destroying.”

As a physics major at St. Edward’s
in the early 1960s, Rueb didn’t know where he might end up, but he knew he would be prepared. “My undergraduate degree prepared me in every way,”
said Rueb, who went on to earn two master’s degrees, one in physics and one in business administration. “It allowed me to get into the projects I work on
today and to really understand them. Without what I learned from St. Edward’s, I wouldn’t have gotten through the door.” — Stacia Hernstrom

She may not run faster than a speeding bullet or leap tall buildings in a single bound, but when it comes to environmental crime, Barbara Foreman, ’96, is definitely a super hero. As the manager of special investigations for the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission and the commander of the Texas Environmental Enforcement Task Force, Foreman spent the past eight years keeping Texas clean by putting polluters behind bars. Her program is a model for other states, and her hard
work has won the praise and respect of
environmental leaders across the
country.

It also caught the attention of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
where Foreman was recently appointed
to the role of special assistant for state
and local program development in the
Office of Compliance, Enforcement, Forensics and Training in Washington, D.C. While similar to her Texas post — though on a much larger scale — her new job will allow Foreman to consult with cities and states to establish and improve environmental crime programs nationwide.

“People tend to think of environmental
crime as a civil matter, but we
send people to jail,” she said.
“Environmental crime affects our air
and water quality and eventually
impacts our wallets, because taxpayers
end up paying to clean it up.”

With more than 20 years experience
and the distinction as the first
African American woman deputy sheriff
in Travis county, Foreman was already
successful, but felt there was something
missing. “I looked around the room one
day and realized I was the only one
without at least a bachelor’s degree,” she said. “That was the turning point.”

She enrolled in St. Edward’s University New College and graduated with a degree in public administration.
While her chosen degree did not prepare
her for the scientific elements of
her job, it taught her something much
more valuable. “I learned how to think
critically, creatively and to find solutions,
as well as learning how to conduct
effective research. Each of these skills
can be applied to help me solve the realworld problems I encounter every day.”

Nelson Arboleda, ’94, came to St. Edward’s from Colombia on a soccer scholarship. Dividing his time between corner kicks and textbooks, Arboleda studied hard. He
majored in biology and knew he one day wanted to return home as a doctor, treating innocent victims of the guerilla warfare that has plagued his country for decades.

After graduation, Arboleda attended medical school in Cali, Colombia, and worked at the Universidad del Valle trauma center treating child victims of gunshot wounds, burns, stabbings, kidnappings and landmines. Without wanting to, he became an expert in civil war, the disruption it causes to families
and its devastating impact on children.
In fact, it is the hope of making a difference
that keeps Arboleda committed to
his work.

“There are times when you can’t
reach children, can’t get to them, can’t
find them,” he said. “But there is nothing
like seeing the smile on a child’s face
when you’ve been able to help.”

Currently a specialist at the Partnership for the Study and Prevention of Violence in Miami, Fla., Arboleda travels to Colombia frequently to investigate for Cisalva, the

center for health and violence at the Universidad del Valle that looks into kidnappings, forced displacement, civil violence and child exploitation by guerilla groups.

When not investigating for Cisalva, Arboleda educates his peers. He frequently travels across the globe — most recently to Finland, Yugoslavia and Canada — presenting to doctors, medical students, non-profit groups and international consortiums about war
and children and, more importantly, about how to treat and prevent violence against them. He has also lectured at universities in the United States including Harvard, Yale and Georgetown and worked with the United Nations’ charity UNICEF.

While nothing could have prepared him for the violence he witnesses, Arboleda is thankful for his time at St. Edward’s. “As an undergraduate I got the chance to relate to individuals with diverse backgrounds and from different communities, which has been invaluable,” he said. “St. Edward’s taught me
how to interact with other cultures, and I do that with my work every day.” — Stacia Hernstrom

Monica Flores’ voice perks up at the mention of research, labs and genes. As a research assistant at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Monica Flores, ’01, conducts research in hopes of locating a gene that is more susceptible to cancerous tumors. “The beginning work of research is very hard because it’s repetitive. The impact of the results will happen later, but I can’t give up,” Flores said.

After comparing two strains of mice, researchers discovered that tumors appeared more rapidly in some mice than in others. What caused this? Flores is determined to find out. The project is new, revealing something every day. “I love the lab. I’m looking for the gene, and I’m hopeful. I want to find it,” Flores said. If the research shows
that there is a correlation between human and mice genes, the findings could possibly prevent human tumors, she said.

Flores was the first biology major from St. Edward’s to be selected for the CANDAX-ME McNair Scholars Summer Research Program at the University of Notre Dame. No one expected that after her internship she would pave the way for the more than 20 science majors who have since participated in the program.

“When she was a freshman, I thought she was very shy and quiet,” Esther Yacono, College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) director said. “But she’s transformed and becomes a different person when presenting her research. I’m very impressed.”

Flores’ experience at St. Edward’s helped her realize that research was one of her passions. “I had the support of both the CAMP program and Professor William Quinn,” Flores said. “He encouraged me, and I owe him a lot.”

At the UT MD Anderson Cancer
Center, Flores continues to pave the way for science majors by supervising St. Edward’s interns conducting
research. “Monica is my role model,”
biochemistry intern Anita Ramos, ’03,
said, who works under Flores’ supervision. “She has a lot of patience and never gives up. She shares her knowledge with others, and she’s taught me to trust myself to persevere.”

Flores plans to start her doctoral studies at the University of Texas
Health Science Center at Houston in
the graduate school of biomedical studies. “Once I get something going, it
gives me more of a drive. I see where
my research can go, and I want to take it there.” — Nancy Flores, ’03