2021-22 President's Scholars

Amber Torres

Bernard and Lucie Bidart President’s Scholar

Major: Theatre

College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences

As a performing arts program specialist in the City of Commerce, Amber Torres taught children to have confidence, but she wanted to influence them more through theatre and dance education. That meant following her own advice to return to college in her thirties to complete her degree. “More life experience helped me apply to Cal Poly Pomona, because by teaching my students to believe in themselves, I needed to take my own advice and finish school,” she says. “Besides wanting to be more knowledgeable about my field, it’s also important for me to get my degree for my own future family and be the trailblazer in my family lineage.” As artistic director for Unplugged Performing Arts in South East Los Angeles, Amber provided free arts programming for local families and created inclusive learning environments for special needs students. Recognition as a President’s Scholar helps Amber motivates her to maintain her high GPA and helps her cope with loss of income during the pandemic as she fulfills her educational dreams.