SCRANTON — Tarra Scarola Tournour’s college experience helped her find a career path she’s still passionate about today.

The Milltown, New Jersey native graduated from the University of Scranton in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in human services. Her path, while bumpy, helped pave the way to her career now and gave her tons of experience.

When starting the college application season, Tournour almost committed to a different Jesuit institution, Fordham University, becauseof how much she enjoyed the campus but ultimately picked Scranton.

“I did not want to be in the city because I thought my mother was going to hover and be suffocating, so I decided to go to Scranton. Plus, a lot of my friends from high school were also going there,” Tournour said.

She originally came into the university wanting to be in the medical field and majored in biology but quickly switched to human services after experiencing the challenging course load.

“Biology in college is very different from biology in high school. I really wanted to be a doctor, because I enjoyed learning about the big concepts. I did not care for knowing about what the cell is doing and all that,” Tournour said.

While at the university, Tournour became co-president of the human services society where they did outreach programs and helped in the community. Being active in the club allowed her to build her portfolio and helped secure an internship in Scranton.

“I did not want to give up the idea of doctor yet, so I thought I would try physical therapy and did my internship at a physical therapy place from a human services perspective,” Tournour said.

Her mindset quickly changed to only human services and social work after hating the experience at the physical therapy practice. Soon after graduating, Tournour was able to secure her first job.

Her first job out of college was working for Division of Youth & Family Services (DYFS), now known as Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P). This quickly became her favorite job and solidified her love for helping victims.

“I loved it. I liked being in crisis intervention and learned I was really good in situations where the stakes were high,” Tournour said.

Taking classes at the university gave her the tools she needed while working in DYFS that she still uses today.

“My courses prepared me for my work at DYFS. One class, family dynamics, was so helpful working with DYFS people. I could determine what was not working in a family unit,” Tournour said.

Four months into her job, she met her husband, Frank Tournour, through a work case. The two have been married for 25 years and have three kids.

Tournour now works as a court advocate in Freehold, New Jersey, where she helps domestic violence victims through the entire court process by providing them with the correct services to create a successful trial.

Tournour has also decided to return to school and is pursuing her master’s in social work from Rutgers University.

“Do what you like. Don’t do what you think you are supposed to do. As soon as I started taking human services classes, that was where I was most comfortable,” Tournour said.