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In nominating Susan Torres as a 2008 Woman of Achievement, a
colleague wrote, “Susan Torres is a true hero. Every
day, she works to help and empower others and is devoted to serving
diverse and underserved populations, specifically immigrants and
refugees.”
Susan grew up in the Pacific Northwest. After earning her
bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington, she
joined the Peace Corps. She travelled to Ecuador, expecting
to serve for two years. She extended one year and then stayed
for 25 more, building a life.
Susan never formally studied education during her undergraduate
work. But, she said, “When I went into the Peace Corps,
they needed teachers. I was basically thrown into it.”
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She taught biology, English, social studies, literature at all levels
– from second grade immersion through university. She also
worked in a hospital, taught medical English, helped develop an employment
agency, worked with community health centers, and established home-based
services for first-time mothers.
While in Ecuador, Susan married her first husband and raised three
children: Michael, Monica and Philip. With her daughter
active in gymnastics, the family joined a sports club. Susan became
one of the country’s three international judges and represented
Ecuador at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
In 1991, she returned to Vancouver where she married her husband Rem,
a native of St. Petersburg, Russia. Fluent in Spanish and French,
she taught at Hudson’s Bay High School and Shumway Junior High
School. In 1994, she joined Clark College as an instructor of
English as a Second Language (ESL).
Susan believes that her life experiences have helped her assist her
students, many of whom are highly-trained professionals from Asia, South
America and Eastern Europe who find themselves in a new country with
communication challenges and no support network. “I know
what it is to be an immigrant on both sides, both in Ecuador and returning
to the United States after 25 years…and I think my students can
appreciate that,” Susan said.
“It’s not just teaching language,” she noted.
“It’s being a gatekeeper for the culture and helping people
create a new network and understand how things work here.”
They realize that we care,” Susan said. “It’s
not a class; it’s a community of learners.”
In the community, Susan has participated in the Winter Hospitality
Overflow program, which provides shelter to the homeless, as well as
Habitat for Humanity and the American Cancer Society’s Relay for
Life. For three years she was a volunteer English and citizenship teacher
for the Hispanic community.
Susan serves as a mentor and tutor for students at all levels and takes
a personal interest in her students’ lives. One of her nominators
wrote, “Susan had a student who was raising three children on
her own. She took the family under her wing, inviting them to her home
and including them on holidays. Now, the mom is taking college
classes to begin a new career, her older children are studying for their
associate degrees at Clark, and they have settled in their own home.”
Another nominator noted, “All of us who know Susan feel privileged
and blessed not only to have her in our lives, but also because her
work makes our community a better place to live in.”