Bryn Mawr students define success on their own terms and lift up others as they make a meaningful difference in the world.
Estefania Torres '23 of Houston, Texas, who is majoring in environmental studies, is making a difference working as a student coordinator for DACA and undocumented students on campus.
Following a summer Pensby Fellowship, Estefania is now working alongside Assistant Dean Leslie Castrejon helping undocumented, DACAmented, and students from mixed-status households at Bryn Mawr College.
In addition to her work at Pensby, Estefania helps build community on campus through her artwork.
Last year, Estefania painted a portrait of MJ Rodriguez, award-winning actress and star of the Netflix series Pose, to commemorate the feeling of making a "home away from home," she says. Estefania gifted the portrait to the Enid Cook '31 Center (ECC) to honor the sense of belonging that both the ECC and Bryn Mawr College have given her.
“Rodriguez managed to build a sense of community in an industry where opportunities for transgendered-identified people are scarce much less being welcomed,” says Estefania. “How MJ built her own community in entertainment is what I managed to realize for myself as a Latinx attending a predominantly white institution. Attending and residing in a predominantly white college campus can be alienating when I, myself, do not identify or resonate with the majority student population. Nonetheless, I have found my own community here that I cherish and appreciate everyday.”
Know about a Mawrter making a difference? Send us an email at news@brynmawr.edu.