Meet Logan Marie Torres | Young Professional, Athlete, Student

We had the good fortune of connecting with Logan Marie Torres and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Logan Marie, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
My work life balance has changed dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic started. My previous pace was consistently rigorous. I had a well organized running schedule. When Colorado COVID-19 response restrictions began, everything from work, to workouts, to school was adapted to remote access. It has been beneficial in countless ways, but was stressful to adjust to at first. It was really challenging to adjust to remote learning for the last year of an undergraduate degree. The biggest jump for me personally was going from learning difficult scientific concepts in a lab, and having every day instructor interaction, to remote learning without hands on work. Not unlike so many other people during this time, some major life events also had to adapt.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Something I have been encouraging other people to consider seriously is their childhood dreams that they didn’t think they could achieve after a certain point. I grew up figure skating but never had the time or means to do what the other girls were able to at the time; train every day and compete on rigorous schedules at elite levels. My passion for skating never died though and as an adult I am finding it even more rewarding to pursue. Choosing to skate has meant choosing to take really good care of my body and to challenge and build my confidence continually. Figure skating is historically one of those sports that requires intense dedication from an early age in order to compete at high levels successfully. People who “started late” like myself are often not considered seriously or believe for themselves that they can never achieve the level they want to so there is no point in trying. I say to hell with that. Whether its a hobby, a recreational activity that you always desired to be good at, or a dream that seems too intimidating like starting a business, there needs to be more people to say GO FOR IT. I can tell you its not easy being the adult doing double rotation jumps on practice sessions where twelve year old athletes are doing quadruples, but it doesn’t detract from how much I adore the sport. Its not easy when people ask why I am dedicating time and energy when I will “never be an Olympian”, but its not for them to understand how skating makes me feel and how it keeps my body healthy and strong. The goal isn’t to be an Olympian, the goal is to do what I always wanted to because I love it. I meet people on a surprisingly frequent basis who have “if I had only” stories in their inventory. They so frequently feel too intimidated or sheepish to try at it again now. I want to encourage them to remember that we only get one life and if your pride, worry, or society’s ideas around something are the only things standing in your way, those aren’t good enough reasons to have never at least tried something again or for the first time.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
For a night on the town, I would absolutely take them to see a show at the Buell Theater and get dinner at any of the nearby restaurants. If they felt like staying out I love La Rumba for dancing and drinks afterward! For outdoor activities, depending on their desire to hike or sight see I would want to take them on the drive up Mt. Evans so they could experience the views of a Colorado 14er, and/or take them to Vail for a day or two. My favorite summer event in Vail is the Bravo Vail series. Taking them to a Bravo Vail concert would be a must! Less deep into the mountains my next choices would be showing them the Georgetown Railroad where you can take a tour of the old mines up there, learn about the history, and ride on the train. Seeing Red Rocks and trying the fudge at the store there are of course also must-dos when visiting.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There is not one single organization or person I can dedicate my shoutout to. Countless people have played a role in moving my life story along to where it is today. To name just a few, first, its really important to me to thank every single teacher that ever helped educate me throughout the years. It continually amazes me how often I use both the academic and the life lessons that I learned from my various teachers. As a child of course you don’t always understand why certain teachers make you do things the longer or harder way. As an adult I am grateful that they cared enough to push me through those tasks then so that my life as an adult could have so much potential now. I had years of teachers, coaches, and mentors who spent extra time with me and helped me walk through chaotic periods of my life. When I breeze through challenges or am able to get through the next level of academic courses I think of each person who made sure I had all of the skills I needed to be able to do so. I don’t always have the answers but I cannot thank all of these people enough for making sure that even when I don’t have the answers, I have the skills and confidence to find them. Their roles in my life are priceless and not taken for granted. I do of course also want to shout out to my family for being endlessly supportive as I have endeavored into so many things over the years. Likewise they instilled a strong work ethic in me, and selfless love that still teaches me how to love others better. Finally, It is strange to a lot of people when I tell them I am grateful to the pageant systems that I competed in growing up. I competed in so many different pageants, some of which I won in and many I never even placed in. Pageantry has a lot of critics. I know why and don’t think that those of us who have participated don’t also have critiques of our own. However, I gained so many professional and life skills through pageantry. Through pageants, I learned how to present myself on stage, interview in front of both a panel and one-on-one, put a resume together, and be confident in myself when surrounded by many other beautiful, powerful, well spoken young adults. In a society and culture where its easy for women to get caught up in beauty alone, or to focus too much on competing with everyone else it was pageantry that taught me that a”rising tide lifts all boats”. I made some of my best friends in pageantry and want to shoutout to the systems that consistently promote beauty from the inside and professional development.

Website: https://loganmariedenver.weebly.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lomariedenver/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loganmariedenver/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loganmariedenver/

Image Credits
Dark studio photo- Austin Drawhorn Photography Simple headshot- Brian Schmittgens Photography and Irina Katina Makeup Skating-Nicole Marcelli Photography,Mel Akana McIntosh Makeup, Tia Fiore Garland Hair, Bobbi Akana wardrobe