Rock-solid support takes alumnus from lonely to M.D.

Robin Torres felt lost, alone. Not only was El Paso 800 miles from family, but hospitals nearby had begun setting up portable morgues. Life in fall 2020 was fragile.

But Torres couldn't give up. And reflecting on his family’s sacrifices, he wasn’t about to.

“I'm a bit stubborn,” he said.

Growing up in Detroit, the son of immigrants, Torres trusted that life would put him where he belonged. In 2011, life put the recent high school graduate in Houston, blocks from San Jacinto College’s North Campus. He enrolled as a general studies major, following his father’s advice to find a career using “brains instead of body.” Uninterested in science at first, he caught a biology professor's enthusiasm and joined a biodiversity project classifying campus flora and fauna.

“As much as I enjoyed it, I discovered I didn't want to work with animals and bugs,” he said.

What did interest Torres were people. Another biology professor, Dr. Yuli Pernia, encouraged him to consider biomedical courses. Her stories of working as a medical doctor in South America broke the glass ceiling he had created for himself as a first-generation, minority student.

In 2014, Torres completed a biology associate degree and started a pre-med pathway at the University of Houston. But classes with 200-plus students overwhelmed him, and he struggled asking for help. After his bachelor's degree, he took several gap years to work and apply to multiple medical schools. In early 2020, he got accepted to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso.

"What I've learned is don't give up,” he said.

While Torres fought loneliness during pandemic lockdowns, he connected with other students through online study sessions. When lockdowns lifted, he volunteered for the El Paso Health Education Awareness Team, which hosted public lectures and workshops on COVID-19. This sparked his interest in public health and emergency medicine.

I didn't want people, especially first-generation students like myself, to feel lost like that. It's very easy to give up when you have all these barriers.

In May 2024, Torres graduated with his M.D. degree. Now completing his medical residency in Austin, he credits his success to his parents and people like Pernia who saw his potential and encouraged him. That’s why he mentors younger students.

“I didn't want people, especially first-generation students like myself, to feel lost like that,” he said. “It's very easy to give up when you have all these barriers.”

Today, Torres has achieved more than he ever imagined. He encourages younger students to ask for help — and trust their gut.

“It can be scary to figure out what you want to do, but you know you,” he said.

Did you know?

With San Jacinto College’s natural science Associate of Science degree (formerly separated into life and physical sciences), students can customize their academic path, taking the specific science and math courses that fit their career path or transfer university's requirements.

Read more stories from the Chancellor's Report to the Community