Since 2021, Rebecca Torres has been part of an integral team working to keep NMSU safe. She is also a full-time student, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in public health.
As a program compliance specialist for NMSU’s Environmental Health Safety and Risk Management, Torres assists with the development, maintenance and management of the various programs within EHS&RM that are designed to ensure the safety of the NMSU community. These programs include research and lab safety, chemical and waste management, occupational safety, risk management, environmental compliance, the unoccupied aerial systems program, Sponsored Youth Programs, workers compensation and the Fire Life Safety Program.
On a daily basis, she provides administrative, fiscal and procurement support to EHS&RM Executive Director Polly Saenz. She also works with assistant directors to maintain the department’s learning management system, HSI, which houses various safety trainings. Her other duties include updating safety trainings, posting annual reports to the EHS&RM website, processing vehicle and utility cart permits and POs for quarterly hazardous waste pick-up, taking requests for on-campus waste pick-ups, fielding phone calls, and answering departmental emails and requests.
Torres has held a variety of jobs throughout her career, many of which have involved working directly with the public across the service, retail and medical fields.
“Since I was in high school, I have always had a job where I was working with the public, whether it was as a waitress at my aunt’s restaurant, working at a local office supply store, or as a coordinator for a school-based health center,” she said. “I enjoy helping people.”
She decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree in public health to help advance her career. She has an associate degree and two professional certificates from Doña Ana Community College.
“I am proud to know our department is doing what we can to keep the NMSU community safe and am glad to be a part of it,” she said. “That is why I decided to go back to school and get a bachelor’s degree in public health, which I hope to use to continue to assist our department in growing and keeping our NMSU community safe.”
Torres expects to complete her bachelor’s degree by 2026.
One of her instructors, Jagdish Khubchandani, said: “This is what makes NMSU and our learning environment unique. Rebecca is a practicing expert in environmental health who is taking classes with public health professors. The learning is bidirectional, and she brings excellent perspectives and real-world experiences to her classes.”
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