A Second Calling

John Torres always dreamed of practicing law. So after obtaining his bachelor of science in business administration from City University of Seattle in 1993 he went on to complete his J.D. degree in 1996, and then to receive an MBA in 1997 (also from CityU of Seattle). Although he took some post-graduate level tax classes after that, he soon realized he needed to take a break from acquiring any further knowledge.

“I waited to take some additional law classes and then found it very hard to go back; I just lost steam and didn’t have it in me to add any more initials after my name,” he readily admits.

Although he would become a successful lawyer (today he practices transactional law and was recently sworn in as Judge Pro Tem for the City of Tacoma in mid-January), Torres soon realized he missed the classroom setting. It was at that point that he began talking to Tom Cary, Program Director in CityU’s School of Management, who encouraged him to consider becoming a college-level professor as well.

“We talked about what it would take to teach at CityU. For example, how much time it would involve as well as the level of commitment it required and the skills, abilities, and qualifications I would need. So after much deliberation, I decided to give it shot and went in with an open mind,” recalls Torres.

Although he had no prior teaching experience, Torres felt he had enough education under his belt to hold his own intellectually in the classroom. Once he felt comfortable in front of a class full of students, he began to tweak his teaching style to ensure students were learning the subject matter as best they could.

Torres has taught a variety of business and law classes in the business school such as an online MBA class (MBA 510), Legal Issues in a Global Economy (MC 555), Legal Issues in the Workplace (BSC403), and International Marketing (MK 388).

“I wanted to make sure my students were excited about being in class and excited about learning,” he says. “To do that, I felt I had to create a complete learning experience for the students as well as myself. So I discovered new ways of looking at information as well as new ways for students to incorporate that information into their daily lives, jobs, and experiences.”

Inevitably, the classroom environment began to change. Torres began to learn more about his students by having them complete on-line surveys. He also analyzed their writing styles to identify their voice. After gleaning through this information, he was (and still is) able to create delivery modes so his classroom lectures truly resonate with students.

As part of an international marketing class, for example, Torres asked his highly diverse class to find a food product that they could identify with and to bring it back to class. One female student from Jordan, who had lived in the U.S. for eight years, asked Torres where she should find this product.

“I told her to go to Larry’s Market down the street where they carry a wide range of international products. So she came back to class the next day with a huge grin on her face because she had found this cooking sauce she had been searching for in the U.S. for years. And I said to her, ‘You know, if the only thing you remember from this class is that, well then that’s a good thing because we’ve created a memory. And that’s where I think CityU is head and shoulders above the other universities—our real ability to have diversity and to find voices for that diversity,” he says.

Torres also develops a high level of trust with his students. These connections are important, he explains, because students will remember his class and hopefully retain the information learned there for months to come.

“I had an Indian student who came up to me after class to let me know that she was going back to India to get married through an arranged marriage, to someone she had known for 25 years. I think she wanted to share that special piece of news with someone who was important to her at the time and so she opened up to me,” says Torres. “I know as professors we are not here to interact at a real personal level but if you don’t connect with students at some level then you’re just giving out information.”

Torres, who is Mexican-American, also has worked abroad for CityU and recently returned from Mexico where he taught a business law class.

“I set the bar very high this past quarter but yet I had more students exceed my expectations there than I had ever had in my other two classes. It was a great experience,” he says.

He’s also acted as an alumni ambassador in Mexico and recently traveled south of the border to address Mexican students who were getting ready to graduate. He also spoke to potential students who were thinking about entering the program.

“I told them that the value of my degree is partly defined by our present student body as well as the strength of our University, and I want you to know that we value you, and that the CityU alumni value you, and we think you represent a real opportunity for your country and your society,” he recalls.

But his motivation for CityU doesn’t stop there. Torres is active in CityU’s alumni association and continues to reach out to fellow alumni in hopes that they will also give back some day. The time has come, he says, to embrace CityU and spread the word about its successes and achievements.

“There are a number of CityU graduates and students that can tell a story just like mine, a story of motivation, and there are a lot of wonderful people in and out of the University that can do so. But I think as a collective intellectual family we need to continue to be proud of what we’ve done, and we need to be vocal and support the University,” Torres adds. “It’s time to celebrate.”