Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/415428
Following high school and without an academic scholarship, Avila's parents forbade her to take out college student loans. She opted for the Navy, leaving her family in Illinois for duty in San Diego on the USS Sampson. There she met her future husband, became a mother and completed her enlistment. "I knew I was going to get a col- lege education and I served four years to do that," she says. Plans for a bachelor's degree in English changed when, after taking an online class, she realized it wasn't for her. On a whim, she enrolled in culinary classes and found her pas- sion. When her husband received orders to Newport, R.I., she found Johnson & Wales. "Everything that's led me here has been the product of just following my passions and seeing where it takes me. I love what I've been involved with here at JWU, especially with JbreW." JbreW is the student-run brewing club that promotes the responsible appreciation of finely crafted beers and brewed beverages. As presi- dent, Avila is planning the club's 10th anniversary and is already training her successor in anticipa- tion of her graduation next year with a bachelor's degree in Baking & Pastry Arts and Food Service Management with a concentration in Beverage Service Management. On a brisk and breezy overcast day recently, Avila and fellow club members served up pumpkin spiced ginger ale during Fall Fest. "I have a five-year-old daughter and a very supportive husband who is luckily on shore duty. We're essen- tially a military family. Time apart and sacrifice were always going to be part of the deal. It's something we just work around, and in the end it's all worth it." Balancing Act Rebecca Avila combines a full family life with equal par ts JWU activities and studies. Student, club leader, wife and mother, she has become accustomed to managing disparate roles. " " Everything ... has been the product of just following my passions. Rebecca Avila '15