A new cycle in Silver State politics begins next month — the legislative session kicks off not only with the first Democratic governor in Nevada in 20 years, but also with a new crop of freshmen in a state Legislature that is majority female for the first time in American history.

Among those new lawmakers is Democrat Selena Torres, a 23-year-old English teacher who represents Assembly District 3 in Las Vegas.

To kick off our Freshman Orientation series, Torres discusses how her Latino roots play a role in her political career, immigration and security, and the need for new models in Nevada’s educational system, among other topics.

The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity and translated from Spanish.

Question (Q): Tell me about your family and your childhood.

Answer (A): I was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. My dad is from Usulutan, El Salvador. He fled the civil war in El Salvador. He first came to Los Angeles and then decided to come to Las Vegas. He met my mother here.

I knew my dad was from El Salvador, but for a long time I hadn’t visited that country because there is so much violence, and that’s why he couldn’t go back there. My grandparents are over there, most of my uncles and cousins are still in El Salvador. I went there for the first time when I was 11 years old.

In my house we didn’t speak Spanish much because my dad was concerned that due to our roots, we would suffer the same level of racism he had experienced when he came over here, because he didn’t speak much English and he had an accent.

Now he speaks English perfectly, but I think he still has that concern that … he doesn’t want his children to be exposed to racism. Sometimes racism is racism, and it will exist no matter the accent. I learned Spanish in college and by visiting my family in El Salvador.

Q: What did you think of El Salvador when you visited?

A: It’s a beautiful country, but there are also poverty, gangs. I understand why my dad came here to the United States — so we would have more opportunities. In El Salvador, if someone is living in poverty, that person doesn’t have much of a chance to earn more money and get a good education.

Of course, I also remember my grandparents' house. That's the most beautiful place for me... I don’t like it when we have to wash clothes by hand, or the hot weather, but the beaches are beautiful and the culture as well. Families are very close. There is a lot of nature, like Playa El Cuco, La Libertad, or Lake Coatepeque; one of the most beautiful places in the world.

I love going there to spend time with my cousins ​​and grandparents, because living in the United States, especially as a child, I didn’t have much of a chance to talk to them. Back then they didn’t have a phone or Internet.

My grandparents haven’t traveled to Las Vegas in 15 years. I can only spend time with them when I go to El Salvador. The last time I was there was two years ago, but I want to go back.

Q: Why did you become a teacher?

A: My mom is a teacher. She had a very big influence in my life. When I was a kid, I thought I wanted to be like her because she knows what our community needs — more teachers who also love students like we do.

Also, because I know there aren’t many teachers who are Latino. We must have more Latino teachers, because we have such a large Latino community, but we aren’t represented in education. If we want to see a change, we have to do it. We need to be an influence for the next generation.

Q: How did you get into politics? What was the recruitment process like?

A: All my life I have been very involved in our Latino community. I'm in charge of the Cesar Chavez Day event in East Las Vegas, and I have also participated in programs for Latino students.

I remember when Nelson Araujo had his first campaign when he was running for the Assembly in our community, and I lived in that district, where I’m the assemblywoman right now. For me it was amazing to see a Salvadoran-American have the opportunity to represent our culture and our community.

Q: How did you meet Nelson Araujo?

A: I had a teacher at CSN who told me: "There is a Salvadoran who has a campaign for the Assembly and has a canvassing event in the park." It was close to my house in my district. I went there, and that’s how I started working with him. My sister and I went from door to door.

Q: What did he say when you met him and found out you also had Salvadoran roots?

A: He was surprised, and I also think he was proud because I had that opportunity to encourage other Salvadoran-Americans, that we can be represented in the government. He was the first Salvadoran-American to be represented in the State of Nevada.

Q: Has Nelson Araujo given you some advice for your new position?

A: He told me it’s a lot of work. To be in politics and to be good representatives, it is hard work, but if you love the community and if you work for what is good, you can always feel it in the heart.

Q: You are a member of the Judiciary, Education, and Legislative Operations & Elections committees. What are three specific goals you have now that you will start working on in the Assembly?

A: With education, I want to work a lot with the programs we have for English language learners. Working with many students who aren’t from this country, or who are from here but their first language isn’t English, it’s very important to me that we have programs to help them.

Also, the scholarships the state offers must be for all students, so that it won’t be so difficult for them to have access. Another important thing for me is that we approve laws that take our community into account, that make life easier.

Q: Do you support the Read by Grade 3 policy, which provides extra resources for literacy and retains students if they can’t read at grade level by third grade?

A: I think it is a good start and it’s clear we need to make some changes, but the intentions are good. I'm a school teacher. If my students haven’t mastered those concepts and they are in grades 12, 11 or in the 10th grade, it’s difficult to be a student in an English class, it’s difficult to teach them like this. So we must have programs for them. That will be a topic of discussion in the legislative session.

Q: Do you support continued funding for the Opportunity Scholarships, which is funded by tax credits and gives low- and middle-income students funds for private school tuition?

A: This is a difficult one, because I really do believe that a lot of families feel that they benefit from the Opportunity Scholarship. We need to make sure that public schools are funded adequately, and it’s hard in the classroom when our students don’t have the resources they need, and schools often feel that is because our resources are going elsewhere.

So, we need to improve our quality of education throughout the state, and it can’t just be given to a certain amount of students.

Q: Do you think the funding formula is currently working well? 

A: It is definitely time for us to make some changes to our funding formula. We’ve made some great strides this last session … with Zoom funding, with Victory grants; all those things were great for our community, but we still have a lot of work to get done.

And I think that it is clear that very specific student populations don’t receive the help that they need.

Q: Regarding national issues, there is one that has to do with Nevada, related to the October 1 shooting. Do you support a ban on semiautomatic weapons?

A: I think we should consider the laws we have regarding weapons, because we actually have a lot of problems in the nation, but also in the state. We need to find ways to give our community the rights to have access to weapons, but also to make our community safe.

Q: Do you think Nevada needs to change its position regarding the 287 agreement (g) or decriminalize traffic offenses?

A: Yes. That's something we have to change, because sometimes people don’t have money to pay the fine, and in the end, if you don’t pay, the amount grows. We must find a way to say, it’s good to respect our laws, but also to find a way to help the community if they can’t pay — to find a way to achieve balance.

Q: And the 287 (g) agreement, in which local jails cooperate with federal immigration officials?

A: We know there are so many immigrants who are affected by fines they can’t pay, or sometimes they’re afraid to pay them.

I think when we are looking to 287 (g), one of the things that we really have to consider is how our law enforcement is working with federal agencies. And I think, at this time, the first thing we need to do is understand it. I don’t know that the state necessarily understands it, and a lot of times, we don’t have enough information to understand what types of crimes we’re working with federal agencies for ... So, I think we really do need more information, but as a state we don’t have enough information. We need government transparency.

What does it mean for you to be elected for the Assembly?

A: I still can’t believe it. I never thought that I would have this opportunity, being so young, and coming from a humble background. My dad works in the casinos and my mom is a teacher.

I think growing up you have this idea that politicians aren’t us. They don’t look like me. They don’t have my type of hair, they don’t come from our background, that they don’t have to send money back to El Salvador to make sure that their family can make ends meet.

But then you come to realize that’s part of the problem. We don’t have legislators who look like me.

When I was canvassing, one of my students said to me: ‘Miss Torres, can you believe it? You’re running for office! You’re gonna win!’ and I said: ‘Yeah, I know. It’s incredible, isn’t it?’ And she said: ‘I can run for office one day. Miss Torres, you can be president one day, somebody like us can be president one day.'

At that moment I remembered why I’m doing all these things, because we must be represented in the Legislature.

Q: What do you think needs to be done so that there is more representation of other nationalities in public office?

A: I think one of the things as legislators we have to do is make sure that we get out, that we get to know our communities. We need to know the communities in which we are going to work. Especially young people, who are the next generation. We need to talk to them and have programs that help students who are interested in this kind of work.

Q: What do you think will be the main challenges in your new position and how will you overcome them?

A: I think one of the hardest things is that I'm new in the Legislature. There is much to learn at once, and I think the best I can do is ask for advice and help, and learn everything I can to be the best legislator and representative I can be.