DALLAS — Veteran Laura Porras enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2004, at the height of the Iraq War.
“I signed up first and then I think I waited like six months to graduate, and then I was shipped off,” said Porras.
She was only 17 years old and she took a radiology path, which led her to working at a military hospital, caring for wounded soldiers.
“During a war, there’s a lot of suffering going on and that was extremely hard for me,” she said.
Witnessing that suffering is difficult for her to process to this day. It's something she says many other military health care workers also experience.
"They’re not, you know, the ones in the action, they’re not given the same treatment, like it's okay for you to not be okay,” said the veteran.
When she returned to civilian life after six years of service, she wanted to continue growing and using the skills she acquired in the military, but in a different environment that would align with her new role as a mother.
“The technology came out when I was pregnant with my son - he’s 12 now - and I was just, you know, scanning myself because I wanted to see him,” she recalled.
Finding her purpose through her small business, Stork Vision Dallas, helps connect expectant parents with their babies early on while supporting women of color working on their dreams.
“She’ll always be there to guide me and help me through the process because she’s gone through that before and I’m sure she did it all by herself and she doesn’t want us to go through that,” said Blanca Arias, a sonographer at Stork Vision Dallas.
Porras is always ready to take one for the team, to support their journey.
“She is always asking if we’re happy, what can she do better to make us feel more comfortable and better,” said Arias.
As an immigrant from Chihuahua, Mexico, a single mother and minority business owner, Porras knows there are many hurdles to overcome along the way.
“The most important thing in my life is to empower Latin women, especially because I have a daughter,” said Porras.
She also said the determination she has comes from her parents and the example they set for her from a young age becoming small business owners in a country they immigrated to.
“They didn’t have the education here but they found a way, they broke barriers themselves just getting here,” said Porras.
Now, she’s a veteran lending a hand and serving beyond active duty.
“Being part of that time and that camaraderie that we had, I’m so proud of it. I wouldn’t take it back, it was difficult, but I wouldn’t take it back,” she said.
It’s a lifestyle of values that she holds close every day.