Ruben Salas enhances higher education experience by earning Online MBA in Construction Management

After dropping out of high school at 15 years old, Ruben Salas built a construction career and worked his way up to a superintendent position in Spokane, Washington.

“I decided to go back to school when I was on a job site in 2005,” he said. “I saw an inspector looking down on me while I was busting my butt. I said, ‘I want to do what he does.’ That’s when the journey started. I went back to school and enrolled into college prep and earned my GED from Spokane Community College.”

Twenty years later, Salas graduated from Boise State University’s Online Master of Business Administration in Construction Management program to bring his academic career full circle. He is the first person in his family to earn a college degree.

“The road has been challenging,” he said. “My family has made unimaginable sacrifices. The decision to walk away from the security of construction pay on the road was challenging. It took courage and support from family and friends to make this move.”

Salas and his wife, Anita Johnson, have eight children ranging in age from 29 to 5 years old. He is an assistant operations manager for Atlas Technical Consultants in Idaho Falls. Salas took a one-year hiatus while earning his master’s degree but came back and reached his goal.

“I started to get the itch to go to school again,” he said. “I thought I could use an MBA with an emphasis in construction management to enhance my opportunities for greater growth at Atlas. The whole idea of an online program drew me to Boise State.

“I did homework all of the time. When we went camping, I had cell service, so I would sit in my truck and write papers and finish up my discussion boards. Having the freedom to do my homework when I could and get it turned in on time helped me be successful in getting my MBA.”

Staying the course

Salas spent his childhood in Rupert and Burley, Idaho, and began his construction career after dropping out of high school. He graduated with an Associate of Applied Science in 2010 and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering technology from Idaho State University in 2017.

“I enjoyed doing a lot of my online classes at ISU,” he said. “I was working full-time as an inspector in the field at the time. I was working a lot of hours, but I could go to work and provide for my family, be home at night and do my studying when the kids went to bed.”

Salas thrived in the courses geared toward construction management — Leadership in Architecture, Engineering and Construction, Architecture, Engineering and Construction Project Management and Architecture, Engineering and Construction Company Management — after enrolling at Boise State in 2021.

“I became a superintendent when I was 18, so those courses were my favorite part of the program,” he said. “I was able to apply everything to my career. I was also able to use my own words and experience to write papers.”

Although he struggled with the Managerial Accounting course, Salas is using what he learned in his career almost every day.

“My advisor kept encouraging me,” he said. “I came out of there a lot more disciplined, structured and aware of the business side of things. I learned a lot more about economics. Plus, I got a head full of accounting.

“Now, I can speak the language. I can involve myself in conversations with accounts payable, accounts receivable and accounts, in general. I can defend my position as an operations manager.”

Salas hopes to parlay the MBA into a promotion at Atlas, which has 140 offices in 43 states across the country.

“I have been throwing my net out wide to get my foot in the door for a director position,” he said. “I want to be a director of learning and training development for the different Atlas offices.”

On site

On graduation day in December 2024, Salas celebrated with most of his family on hand to see him walk across the stage in cap and gown.

“It was surreal,” he said. “When I was sitting there at the ceremony, I was with the master’s graduates. I thought, ‘Whoa. How did I get here?’”

Salas is especially proud of setting an example of perseverance to his kids, going from a high school dropout to earning an advanced degree.

“I tell them that short-term sacrifice leads to long-term investment,” he said. “It’s uncomfortable for now.

“You’re going to put in long hours tonight and tomorrow, but next week is going to be a different week. Next year is going to be a different year. You could graduate and do things you want with your friends and go on vacations.”

Now that he has added an MBA in Construction Management to his resume, Salas is hearing those career opportunities begin to knock.

“I now see the doors that are starting to open for me and my family,” he said. “I can feel my persistence in achieving my goals carrying over into my career. My journey through my MBA was a tough one, and the strength I have gained will help me go after my goals with my degrees.”

Salas did not take the road less traveled along the way, but he is thrilled to call himself a Boise State University graduate.

“Regardless of all the storms we went through to get here, it was a journey I needed for personal growth and the future I have now built for my family and continuing generations that has started with my grandson and two granddaughters,” he said. “Now that I have lived it, I understand Winston Churchill’s quote: ‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.’”

Learn more about the Online MBA

Earning an Online Master of Business Administration from Boise State University can open doors to new opportunities and a brighter future — and we’re here to support you every step of the way. Whether you’re exploring if an online degree is right for you or need help transferring credits, connecting with a student success coach is the perfect first step.

Ready to learn more? Attend one of our online information sessions or contact a student success coach today.