Luis Torres (COL ’05) doesn’t shy away from controversy.

In his four years at Georgetown he has had his share of it. Whether it was the battle for fair trade coffee on campus his freshman year or standing beside two U.S. senators this past fall begging Congress not to cut federal student aid, Torres has grabbed headlines and attention since arriving.

“I’m a minority voice so I want to be frank and honest, but I’m not afraid of saying what I think,” he said. “I would like to think that I tried to give what I thought was a reasonable point of view, a reasonable voice.”

He has fought against gender violence, for affirmative action, against racism, for the living wage, against homophobia, for civil rights and against the Patriot Act. “There were some things that were very popular and there were some things that were not popular at all,” he said. “Even if people didn’t always agree with me, I hope I got them to think.”

Like so many freshmen, Torres was overwhelmed with the desire to participate in everything. He joined MEChA, the Gospel Choir and the College Democrats.

“I was so afraid that if I didn’t do all of them, I would be missing out on something,” he said.

Four years later, it’s not his motivation that has changed – it’s his perspective. “As graduation gets closer, I have the feeling that time is running out. I’m anxious. I want to do something – and not something just for the sake of doing it, but to make a difference,” he said.

Born and raised a Catholic to a Mexican immigrant family in south Texas, he came to Georgetown concerned about academics, thinking that was the only path to success. In his four years on the Hilltop, he has changed completely. “Four years ago I thought college was about classes and just studying,” he said. “Now I know that it’s really much more. For me it has been the people I have met here.”

He originally intended to sing in the Chapel Choir, but the Gospel Choir found him instead. He loved the energy, passion and people of the choir, and at several times during his freshman year he found himself running on Sundays from Protestant services to Catholic Mass. “I come from a very different place and I was worried at first,” he said. “Looking back, I’m really happy. I tried hard to get out and do stuff and I made Georgetown into my second home.”

He said his sophomore year was a defining period of his life. “I went through a lot of very personal challenges from my academic life to my social life to my personal life.” This past fall he spoke at a news conference with Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to protest proposed federal budget cuts to student financial aid.

“My parents were immigrants. I would never have thought I would have the opportunity to represent my university on a national stage,” he said. “It was very important to me.”

And then there was GUSA. Torres was first elected to the Student Association Assembly as a freshman and ultimately served three terms. When he stepped down at the end of his junior year to assume the vice presidency of GUSA, he was the longest-serving representative on the Assembly.

He participated in two GUSA executive campaigns, first, as a sophomore as the campaign manager for Nazareth Haysbert (SFS ’05) and Rob Hutton (SFS ’04), who were disqualified for campaign violations. The next year Torres ran his own campaign for vice president on a ticket with his longtime friend Kelley Hampton (SFS ’05). Although the pair won the most votes in the initial voting, they were disqualified due to alleged campaign violations. The disqualification was later overturned, but the dubious nature of the election cast a dark shadow over their tenure. Despite the struggles and the politics, Torres remains optimistic about the Student Association. “They’re all really caring people and we’re all trying to do something good for our school,” he said.

He believes that the organization has made significant progress in gaining legitimacy among the student body over the past four years, but he also admits much has yet to be done.

Meanwhile, Torres displays no intention of escaping the spotlight in the years to come. And he likely will continue to play a significant role. Next year he will join Teach for America and begin to give classes to students at a public school in the District. He will simultaneously pursue a master’s degree in education at Catholic University of America. All the controversy, he hopes, have only made him a stronger person. Georgetown, he’s sure, has done its part.