By ERIN GEISMAR

Oscar Durand had no trouble completing his studies as an engineering student in Peru, his native country, but ultimately, he knew engineering wasn’t for him. After he graduated in 2002, he brushed up on his English and, at 22, left his home in Lima for New York, where his father had been living.

Oscar enrolled at LaGuardia Community College in Queens for commercial photography. The change in location was as drastic as his change in career choice — but for Oscar, it felt natural.

“When I look at things, I see photo compositions,” he said.

Oscar was determined to get more experience. When The Times Ledger, a local weekly, didn’t call him back with any assignments, he called them with his own ideas.

He graduated in 2006 with an associate’s degree, but his experiences, including an unpaid internship at El Diario, a Spanish-language newspaper, pushed Oscar to change course again. He said he was more interested in the people he would meet as a photojournalist than in the handbags he would shoot if he were to pursue commercial photography.

Oscar was accepted to Rochester Institute of Technology for photojournalism but couldn’t afford to go. Instead, he freelanced at the New York Daily News for the summer and, in fall 2007, was able to enroll at RIT. Oscar will graduate this May, at age 30, but said it was worth all the time and money spent.

“I got to know myself better,” he said. “I really know what I want now.”