For theater major Farren Ronquillo, life has been nothing short of lights, cameras and action.

Ronquillo, 22, first fell in love with theater when she was only in the third grade. Her first performance was in a musical where she performed and sang in front of people for the first time. She became engrossed with acting and it has been her passion ever since.

“The adrenaline rush is amazing,” Ronquillo said. “I can still remember the first time in front of all those people, and getting all the attention. A lot of people would have been nervous, but I actually thrived on it.”

After performing in the third grade, Ronquillo took on many roles as a child performing in plays such as “The Wizard of Oz” where she played three characters. During the play, she vividly remembered changing outfits three times into wellknown characters: a munchkin, a monkey and an Ozian (person from Oz).

“‘Wizard of Oz’was one of my favorites,” Ronquillo said. “Playing those three characters made me realize that at such a young age, I was flexible and open to different roles and during that play I performed all three very well.”

Although she enjoyed being in different plays and musicals, she described her grade school experience as being difficult. It is something she always carries with her as a motivational tool to constantly remind her of the struggles she overcame.

While attending St. Anthony Catholic School, she described her tenure there from the third grade through the sixth grade as a “living hell” simply because she was bullied and abused emotionally and spiritually.

“Grade school was tough for me, I was actually traumatized,” Ronquillo said. “The popular girls would call me names and tease me each and every single day. They would call me a ‘loner,’ and a bunch of other profane names. I hated coming to school.”

Because of the abuse that she endured during grade school, it caused Ronquillo to be “locked in a shell.” She became very shy and didn’t talk to people very often because girls at her school lowered her self-esteem. Ronquillo said she came to a point in her life when she hated herself.

“I stopped doing plays and shows for awhile because of the trauma that I endured during grade school,” Ronquillo said. “It was harsh. The things they would say still echoes with me through this day. As a matter of fact, I still see some of those girls around and they would still be cold to me.”

After finishing the eighth grade and “escaping” St. Anthony’s, Ronquillo attended Leuzinger High School which became a turning point in her life.

“When I left Saint Anthony’s, I was so happy and thrilled to attend high school because I felt as if it was a new start, a new beginning with new friends along with the opportunity to revive my passion for theatre,” Ronquillo said.

Some of her accomplishments on stage include the best serious actress award at the Dominguez Drama Festival for her monologue, “I’m Filipino, OK.” During her senior year in high school, one of her favorite performances was a role in “Midsummer Night’s Dream” where she played a character named Hermia. During the play she acted out a fight scene with a character named Helena in which she pulled down a girl twice as big as her, knocking off her earrings and she remembered the audience going off into frenzy.

“That play was crazy, it was definitely among my all-time favorites,” Ronquillo said. “I remember pulling down the other girl. I’m this little Filipino girl, and there I was scrapping with this girl who is twice as big as me. It was such an adrenaline rush and after the show, people gave me a lot of props for it.”

Because of the abuse that she faced during grade school, Ronquillo came out of her shell during high school which helped her life socially and especially on stage.

“Because of the fresh start I got at Leuzinger, I was basically a changed person. During grade school, I felt like I was in shackles and to get out of that really boosted my confidence and self esteem.”

Ronquillo is a full-time student at EC where she is also a stage manager and a theater technician during performances at Marsee auditorium.

She said she hopes to transfer and attend University of Calfornia, Irvine or Cal State Long Beach to pursue a career in the film industry, whether it be as an actor or as a director.

Although she faced different trials and obstacles during grade school, she thanks those people who gave her such a hard time because it made her into the person and performer that she is today. She said she thinks that those experiences will only help her in the future as she chases her dreams of working in the film industry.

“In a way, I’m thankful I was treated like that,” Ronquillo said. “I definitely think that it has helped me be the person I am today and will only open many doors for me in the future because I am stronger as a person and a better performer on stage.”