Our Lady of the Lake University

Personal Statement
Name: Jenny A. Torres
Institution: Our Lady of the Lake University

Born in Killeen Texas, I grew up with both of my parents in the state. My father served in the army as an active duty soldier, while my mother stayed at home and took care of the rest of us. We are a family of six; I am the oldest of the siblings, two brothers and one sister. I later on joined the Missouri Valley College, where I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in science. Following in the footsteps of my father, I then joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). Afterwards I had the chance to work in Butterfield Youth Services, which is a center that deals with young boys and girls that have been sexually abused in their life. When I am not working I am a loving mother with a three year daughter who is an inspiration in my life.
Growing up in the family of four children as the oldest of the siblings I was always the role model in the family. This did not practically come about by the sheer reason that I am the oldest but due to several other reasons. One of the main reasons being that I have always had the heart to help people with their problems and being supportive always made me feel satisfied from a very young age. Every time any of my younger brothers or sister was in trouble or had a problem at school or even at home, I always felt an overburdening pressure within me to help them, even when it meant that I may have to put a side my plans for quite a while. At first, it felt odd that I felt the pain of all the people that I came into contact with. At one time, I asked my mother about my condition and she told me that, it was not a condition and I should never feel burdened, as this was a good thing and it meant that I cared. She told me to cultivate the same and make it my goal in life. She was always quite religious and thus felt that this was a way of serving the greater good. Joining the army for me was one of the first steps into the right step. I wanted to learn being selflessness at a different level.
I have not had the chance to take social studies in the past and this is going to be an opportunity of a lifetime. Working at the BYS has really changed my perspective towards life. I have had the chance to meet with children at their lowest moments in life. Some of the children are too young to even understand why it happened. I have had the chance to evaluate my goals in life after meeting with these children and would want to take social studies. My goal in taking the studies is to understand the psychological aspects of the children. Other than the fact that I have the passion to help the children, I believe that alone cannot achieve utmost results. I need to understand the basics of the child’s psychology and all the relevant techniques and strategies applied to such situation. By combining the passion to help the children and real knowledge and skills in the field, I believe I can make a great impac...