Olympic Gold Medalist Dara Torres Named PTA National Ambassador

The National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) has chosen Olympic swimmer Dara Torres to be its newest National Ambassador. The PTA’s goal is for Torres to help increase the involvement of parents by meeting with families and teachers to discuss the importance of focusing on being engaged in key aspects of children’s lives.

Torres says that her mother has always served as an advocate for children’s rights and education, so she learned at an early age about how important it is for parents to be actively involved with their children. Now, as a mother herself, Torres, who has trained hard and won 12 Olympic medals, understands the difficulties parents may have with being actively engaged in the education of their children. Her mission as a National Ambassador will be to support the PTA in creating new ways for parents to get involved, providing them with resources and needed technologies.

Ever since she first competed internationally as a 14-year-old swimmer, Torres has made it clear that she is not just a run-of-the-mill athlete. While enrolled at the University of Florida, she worked hard to earn the most NCAA All-American swimming awards possible - all 28 of them. She was the first swimmer from the United States to compete in four different Olympic Games, setting three world records and winning nine medals, with four of them gold medals.

She competed in the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, coming back from a break of seven years from competitive swimming. At those games she won one gold medal and three bronze medals. After taking another break to start a family, she competed again in the 2006 Masters Nationals, and she broke a world record only three weeks after giving birth to her daughter. Clearly Torres is a person who sets her sights on a goal and commits as much effort as necessary to achieve it.

Torres is just as committed to being a good parent to her 2-year-old as she is to training as an athlete. "I believe that now more than ever it’s important that parents take action and advocate for all children to have the same opportunity to succeed," says Torres. "Whether it’s simply being a PTA member, donating to the cause or getting engaged with advocacy efforts, everyone who cares about children and education has a stake in the future of our country."