LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Rose Torres and her youngest son, Sunny, will graduate from Texas Tech University this weekend after years of hard work.
The journey began when Rose’s two oldest children, Alexsis and Michael, were doing homework at the kitchen table. Rose made a comment about how hard it could be.
“My oldest two were doing their homework and they were at the kitchen table and I could hear them, they were talking about how hard it was and stuff. I made the comment of ‘it can’t be that hard’, and they were like ‘if you think it’s so easy, why don’t you try it and get your own degree,’” Rose said.
Alexsis and Michael later earned their master’s degrees at Texas Tech in healthcare admission and finance. Rose took them up on the challenge and earned her associate’s degree at South Plains College.
Rose committed to Texas Tech but was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2020.
“It was hard. There were a lot of days where I was in pain from the surgery and stuff. I never really said it, there was a lot of times I felt like okay this is just too much, I don’t really know if I should continue,” Rose said.
One of her biggest supporters was Sunny, who was later convinced by his family to enroll at Texas Tech. After a few semesters, Sunny chose criminology as his degree.
“I really wanted to do it because I love the insightfulness of seeing the way people think, seeing the way the world views different types of minds, the way the mind views the world,” Sunny said.
After years of hard work, Rose will earn her master’s degree in personal financial planning and Sunny will earn his bachelor’s degree in criminology the same week. All five members of the family, including father Jose, will have received degrees from Texas Tech.
Sunny will attend state trooper academy in Austin in September to further his law enforcement career.
“Strive for excellence. You think about it, you see it everywhere, I’m like it really is. They help you, they’re gonna help you get there,” Rose said.
“Being able to experience this weekend together, to see the celebrations and stuff that we get to experience together, I feel like it’s really special to me because it’s seeing someone that is your mentor, that is your role model and also your mom. Seeing them complete something that means so much to them, it fills your heart with a lot of joy,” Sunny said.
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