The Trenton Times published the following article on June 17, 2013. To read the full article, click here.

After losing home in fire last year, Trenton Central HS student perseveres to become valedictorian

By Jenna Pizzi/The Times of Trenton 
on June 17, 2013 at 12:38 PM, updated June 17, 2013 at 12:39 PM

TRENTON — On a late summer day last year, two weeks before the start of his senior year of high school, Eddy Torres was heading to his backyard to check on his dog Sparky when he looked out his kitchen window and saw black smoke billowing from the row home next door.

“It was in the back of the house, and the kitchen was on fire,” Torres recalled.

He was able to get out of his house safely, but most of his clothing and other belongings were ruined by smoke damage.

“My room ended up having the most stuff damaged,” he said.

After the fire, the fire department deemed the house on Chestnut Avenue where he lived with his father uninhabitable. As he worked his way through his last year of high school, the 18-year-old was without a permanent home.

Nonetheless, not only did Torres do well, he achieved his academic goal of becoming Trenton Central High School valedictorian.

“I still managed to go to school and get good grades,” said Torres, who will be attending Lehigh University in the fall.

He and his father moved temporarily to a hotel and then stayed with a cousin nearby. Construction has slowly begun on the damaged house, but he said it is not ready to move back into.

Torres knew he was a good student, and was at the top of his class, but he studied hard to make sure he got the grades to be No. 1, he said. An intended engineering major in college, he said math and science come easy to him, but he had to work to get better grades in English class.

“I’ve always liked math,” he said. “It clicks a lot better than reading.”

Torres also has been involved in a number of clubs at TCHS, including the robotics club, which won seventh place in New Jersey during a competition this year. He plays trumpet in the marching band and participated in a mentoring program, working with a local engineer to build a robotic arm and a hovercraft.

His mother Brendaly Alfines, who lives in Hamilton with Torres’ younger sister, said she is very proud of her son’s success through the family’s ordeal.

“I know it has been a little difficult,” she said.

Alfines and Torres credited NJ SEEDS, a nonprofit that helps financially disadvantaged students apply to college, with bolstering his success.

“They were able to help and guide Eddy,” Alfines said. “They know more doors that need to be open and who to call that I wouldn’t.”

Torres has participated in NJ SEEDS since his sophomore year and is a part of the program’s first class to graduate from Trenton Central High School. Through the program he attended SAT preparation classes and learning enrichment classes on the weekends, and in the summer was part of a group that visited Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York, he said.

“It has definitely prepared me for what I am going to see in Lehigh,” he said.

Torres was also the valedictorian of his NJ SEEDS class, which had its graduation ceremony last week. Program President Ronni Denes said Torres has always risen to the top.

“He shows up very early in any interaction as being a star,” Denes said. “He is dedicated to being the best.”

Torres will stand up before his class and give his valedictorian speech at the TCHS graduation on June 25.

“I’ve had the speech written since March,” Torres said.

Contact Jenna Pizzi at jpizzi@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5717.