How Acting Became a Second Career for This Former Flight Attendant

In 2012, Ruby Garcia was working her dream job as a flight attendant when she was injured—an injury that would change her life overnight.

“We were on a late flight out of St. Louis and running behind, so the captain asked that we not check bags. I was helping a gentleman with his bag, which was well over 50 pounds. We were lifting it together to get it into one of the overhead bins, but then he let go, and that’s how I hurt my back,” Ruby said.

The injury left Ruby with three protruding discs in her spine: one in her lower back, one in her neck, and another on the lower right side of her back.

In 2013, Ruby was medically retired from her job at Southwest Airlines.

Unsure of what to do next, she joined a friend doing some modeling for Dillard’s department store in Albuquerque. From there, the same friend suggested she look into background acting, and a second career was born.

Today, Ruby is the president of the Background Actors Association of New Mexico (BAANM), and in May, she earned her certification as a Film Crew Technician from CNM.

“I started looking into going back to school, but wasn’t sure how I was going to pay for it,” Ruby said. “So I started researching my options and discovered the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. It’s a state-funded organization that offers a ton of resources to help disabled adults like me go back to school and pursue new career pathways.”

Because of her work as a background actor and her experience with the Background Actors Association, Ruby has become a strong advocate for background actors in the state, mentoring them and offering guidance and training. In 2023, her organization brought House Bill 23—the Background Artists Act—to the legislature to set standards and protections for background actors.

Two committees approved the bill, but it was ultimately tabled. That setback hasn’t slowed Ruby down. As she continues her studies toward an associate degree in Film at CNM, her ultimate goal is to become a safety compliance officer on set.

“I just want to make sure everyone on set is treated with dignity and respect,” she said.

Ruby may have had to give up her first dream, but she’s turned that loss into a mission—proving that starting over doesn’t mean giving up, especially when that second chance is used to protect others.