Ruben Basantes (Col ’92) puts a spin on a familiar adage: “It takes a village to raise a first-generation college student,” he said.

His village includes hardworking family members, supportive friends, generous scholarship donors, encouraging co-workers, and UVA faculty and administrators who guided and believed in him. Collectively, they helped launch a young man from a single-parent household on a fortuitous journey of learning, success, and service. 

Now, Basantes is helping others navigate the path to educational and professional achievement through his support of UVA’s Bolívar Network, which connects Hispanic and Latinx students and alumni, mentors undergraduates, and provides scholarships.

Finding Direction

Basantes grew up in a Spanish-speaking, Queens, New York home where his Ecuadorian mother modeled a strong work ethic. She worked custodial jobs in Wall Street buildings by day and pulled shifts in a sewing factory at night. On weekends, young Ruben and his siblings would pile into the family car to help her clean houses. 

Eventually the family saved enough money to buy a house of their own in Northern Virginia. Basantes initially struggled in school as he learned English and adapted to his new surroundings, but he persevered with his mother’s encouragement. “My mom would say, ‘Study, study, study. This is what’s going to help you down the road,’” he said.

At age 15, to help support his family, Basantes took a 30-hour-a-week job at a JCPenney store. In school, he immersed himself in drama, student leadership, and math club. He also pursued his passion for music and was named to regional and state choirs. He recalled the school’s choral director wondering what prompted him to audition: “I said, ‘Because you guys have after-school practice, so I can stay here.’ When I explained my situation, she took me under her wing.” 

As he considered life after high school, Basantes relied on guidance from his choral director and friends. “No one in my family had attended a four-year college or gone away to school. So, I didn’t know,” he said. 

He had never been to Charlottesville, but after reading a book about “Public Ivies,” he figured UVA was a good school. “I didn't know anything about the University or Thomas Jefferson,” he said. “I finally found out when I had to write the application essay.” 

UVA and several other schools accepted him. Scholarships—including one from a local auto parts store and another from the Hispanic Scholarship Fund—combined with grants made the prospect of college a reality. 

From MBA to FLA

Basantes did return and received numerous job offers after graduating, accepting a position in the General Mills management development program in Charleston, South Carolina. He earned several promotions before a chance encounter at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill led to thoughts of an MBA.

While he was waiting to pick up an application for a friend, an administrator told him about the Consortium of Graduate Studies in Management and invited him back for a recruiting session. “Grad school was the farthest thing from my mind,” he said. “I needed to make money to pay off my student loans.” 

Basantes was accepted into the program. “I just loved it,” he continued. “Because no one in my family had gotten an MBA, no one even talked about going back to school. So when I went there, I was like a kid in a candy store.” 

After graduation he took a job with Frito-Lay in Dallas. A call from a recruiter led to an opportunity in the liquor business, where he has spent the last 23 years. He is currently the chief operating officer for Bosscal Mezcal Company & Distillery and living in Florida.

Giving Back

At each stop in his career, Basantes has joined and served his local UVA alumni chapter to give back to the university that has played such a significant role in his life. He has led the South Florida chapter for two decades. He previously served on the Young Alumni Council and was recently named to the Board of Managers of the UVA Alumni Association.

Recently Basantes made a bequest benefiting the Bolívar Network First-Year Scholarship. While reviewing his estate plan, he reflected on conversations with his mother, who had died a year earlier. “I remembered her telling me, ‘Education is the one thing no one can take away from you.’ That was a sign to me that this is where my money should go.” 

He hopes his planned gift will help students like himself by providing the type of support that shaped his life. “Down the road they’ll be succeeding at UVA, having a great career, and then passing it along to future generations,” he said.  

It takes a village to raise a first-generation college student—sometimes an Academical Village.

“I became the person I am because of the experiences I had at UVA and the men and women that I met at UVA—students and professors and administration,” Basantes said. “They became my family.”