English Instructor - Gallaudet University
Education:
Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish Language, Literature and Culture Minor: Education, Gallaudet University, 1999
Master of Arts degree in Deaf Education, Gallaudet University, 2002
Mr. Franklin C. Torres was born in Lima, Peru and raised, along with a younger brother, by Deaf parents. At age of 14, He completed elementary school, the same school where his parents attended when they were kids. For one year, he attended a hearing high school in the city of Lima. Playing soccer at school and in the streets of Peru was his passion.
In 1988, Mr. Torres moved to America for a better education. He attended St. Rita’s School for the Deaf in Cincinnati, Ohio for one year. Mr. Torres’s relatives, who live in DC area, were not able to continue supporting him. As a result, he moved to Miami, Florida for a few months and worked for the people he was living with. Mr. Torres didn’t want to continue with this kind of life, because he felt the strong need to continue his education. In 1990, Mr. Torres transferred to the Model Secondary School for the Deaf in Washington, DC. Dr. Angel Ramos and Marianne Sasseen sponsored Mr. Torres until he graduated from high school in 1993. During his high school years, Mr. Torres was grateful to have the opportunity to study, be involved in various organizations, and grow personally and academically.
After graduation, he wanted to continue his education and attend Gallaudet University. He felt this dream would not become a reality because of the cost of a college education. At that point, he felt that he would have to give up that dream and work full time. However, he decided an education was what he wanted and he struggled for a number of years to find the means to support his life and continuing education. Mr. Torres is grateful to Mr. John Lopez, who helped and supported him in various ways to find financial resources.
In 1995, Mr. Torres was finally accepted to Gallaudet University. Without that college education, he has no idea what his life would be like. During college, Mr. Torres was involved with the men’s soccer team and other organizations. The years at Gallaudet brought Mr. Torres many rich experiences. He also excelled academically. Mr. Torres was on the Dean’s List, and received numerous outstanding awards and scholarships. He was featured in an issue of Gallaudet Today in 1996.
Mr. Torres graduated in 2000 with from Gallaudet with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and a minor in Education. In 2002, he earned an Master in Arts degree in Deaf Education from Gallaudet and was the recipient of the Daniel T. Cloud Award. In 2004, he received the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award from the Gallaudet University Alumni Association.
Mr. Torres has four years of experience as an instructor in the English Department at Gallaudet University. He also has been the head coach of the women’s soccer team at Gallaudet. He is fluent in Peruvian Sign Language, Spanish, American Sign Language and English. Currently, he is currently a Ph.D. student at Capella University and expects to complete his degree in Adult Education and Literacy in 2009.
In addition to continuing his education, Mr. Torres established an organization for Latinos in the metropolitan DC area. During the summer of 2005, Mr. Torres went to Albuquerque, New Mexico to attend the leadership institute sponsored by the National Council of Hispano Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Since returning from that institute, Mr. Torres became one of the founders of and is currently serving as President of the Latino Deaf and Hard of Hearing Metropolitan Washington, chapter of NCHDHH.
Mr. Torres resides in Herndon, Virginia.