PROFILE: Lauren Torres

Cristian Rivas

Journalism 1

Ms. Kate

Nov. 19, 2018

Profile Writing

Lauren Torres

lola0691@gmail.com

 

It is never too late to begin a new path toward a better future as El Camino College student Lauren Torres, 27, health science major, has come to realize.

“I knew I needed to go back”, Torres said.

Torres was referring to school.

After having attended West La for a semester, she decided to begin working as a receptionist at a dental office. This decision put a brief stop to her studies, however she later came to realize that she would be stuck in what she refers to as a “dead end job” if she did not return to school.

“It was a job at first and I ended up loving it”, Torres said.

Having been in the dental field for eight years allowed her to grow passionate for the field and inspired her to pursue a path toward becoming a dental hygienist. Torres had other influences for pursing a better future such as her boyfriend Erik Brown, 30, AAA sales representative, whom she currently lives with.

“He’s set for his future and he’s only about three years older than me”, Torres said. “He’s the reason im going back to school.”

 

 

Working as a sales representative for AAA Torres’s boyfriend has managed to acquire multiple cars and is able to comfortably pay rent.

“I am proud that she is pursuing something she is passionate about”, said Brown. “I also like the idea of having additional income.”

Torres states that they have talked about their levels of success and his accomplishments have inspired her to accomplish more.

“My parents have thought us that medical is the way to go because it’s safe and secure”, Torres said.

Inspiration from her family was also a large contributor toward her passion in the medical field as she is currently doing both school and work fulltime. Torres’s sister Crissi Torres, 24, nursing student at El Camino College is also pursuing a career in the medical field.

“I didn’t want to go back to school, but seeing Lauren working 40 hours a week and going to school, I knew I could do it too”, Crissi Torres said.

Lauren Torres is currently taking care of her general studies so that she can participate in West LA’s dental hygienist program where she has high hopes of achieving her career goal.

“I wish I could do the necessary amount of study”, Torres said.

With so much on her plate, she tends to fall short on her studies, but Torres is passionate about her return to school and believes that it has given her a “different outlook in life” giving her the will and motivation to keep going forward.

“It changes the way people think of me”, Torres said.

Torres began classes at El Camino in summer completing her first summer session in 2018 and currently continuing her fall term. She has met interesting people who she has continued to talk to even after classes ended and going back to school has given her more confidence and a better outlook for her future.

“I don’t regret starting school again at this age, I just regret not doing it sooner”, Torres said.

Calculating the years she missed out on school and the classes she could have taken in those years, she believes she could have been done with her education and possibly working as a dental hygienist already. Putting a hold on education also put a hold on a better future. It is never too late to pursue a higher education for education is what leads to a better higher quality life.

“I would tell my younger self to go back to school even if it was just one class a session”, Torres said.