Mia Torres鈥� menstrual justice project grows into policy change
I thought, 'How can this happen here in the U.S.A? There has to be something I could do.'"
When Mia Torres was in sixth grade, her older sister shared disturbing information鈥攎any girls worldwide miss school due to lack of access to sanitary products during their period.
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From an early age, Torres felt the urge to do something about injustices she learned about or witnessed. Growing up in El Sereno, a small community in the Los Angeles, California metropolitan area, Torres was also concerned about the well-being of the unhoused community. So, one night she told her family she wanted to start a project distributing free menstrual products to unhoused women.
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鈥淚 think I shocked my family,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 a big talk or anything鈥攊t was just a little dinner conversation.鈥澨�
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That small idea grew into a large initiative during Torres鈥� middle school years. She saved money, including her father鈥檚 cash tip money that he donated to her, to purchase menstrual products from the dollar store. The young activist and her mother delivered donations to people along major thoroughfares and downtown L.A. Torres鈥� project expanded with attention and donations from supporters.听
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鈥淚t got to the point where our house was full of donations,鈥� she said.听
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Imagine Torres鈥� surprise when she, then a ninth grader, found herself without a pad or tampon when she got her period during math class.听
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鈥淥f course, me! Why wouldn鈥檛 I have any supplies with me?鈥� she questioned the irony.
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She went to the nurse鈥檚 office, where she discovered the school charges $1 per sanitary pad. After searching for money in her backpack and locker, she found a friend who gave her a pad, and she finally returned to class.听
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鈥淲hen I got home, I was really upset,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat pad cost a dollar. I usually have money, but I attended a Title I school, meaning the school is low income. Many students probably don鈥檛 have money, and a dollar is kind of ridiculous for one pad.
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鈥淚 was upset that I missed my learning time, and I thought back to that conversation about the girls missing class in other countries. I thought, 鈥楬ow can this happen here in the U.S.A.? There has to be something I could do.鈥欌��
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I felt this whole wave of emotions in my body鈥攖hat鈥檚 what I want to do! I feel like the major is so broad that I鈥檓 able to do almost anything with my degree at the end.鈥�
Soft-spoken but driven, Torres expanded her project, affectionately titled No Period Left Behind, to provide free menstrual products in her school and neighboring middle and high schools in the L.A. Unified School District (LAUSD), the country鈥檚 second largest district.
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Yet, she wanted to reach the entire district, with over 1,000 schools and 500,000 students, after conducting a survey finding 20 percent of LAUSD students reported lack of access to menstrual products.
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The school board took notice, and Torres helped write proposed policies making products free districtwide. At the same time, lawmakers were considering similar state legislation, and again, Torres shared her knowledge. During her senior year both policies passed. She was elated.
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鈥淲hile I was doing the project, my biggest worry was what鈥檚 going to happen when I go to college,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen it (legislation) passed, I remember being so thankful.鈥�
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Community is important to Torres, and she initially did not plan to leave L.A. for college. However, the isolation from the pandemic led to an itch to explore. She was drawn to CU Boulder鈥檚 beautiful campus and its unique Leadership and Community Engagement major in the School of Education.
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鈥淚 felt this whole wave of emotions in my body,鈥� she said upon learning about the program, which combines leadership development and community activism to create social change.
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鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I want to do! I feel like the major is so broad that I鈥檓 able to do almost anything with my degree at the end.鈥�
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The sophomore could not have predicted that an idea over dinner would blossom into policy change, and her next steps after graduation, and likely graduate school, remain exciting mysteries as well. But altruistic work is in the cards for this community leader.
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鈥淲hen I was applying to colleges, I didn鈥檛 know what I wanted to do or be, but I always say, 鈥業 just want a job where I can help people.鈥欌��
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