Rebecca Morillon used to have a hard time believing in herself.
“I never unlocked my full potential in high school,” said Morillon, who grew up in upstate New York, the youngest of eight kids raised by her father, Michael, who owned a construction company, and her stay-at-home mom, Diane.
“I stopped myself from doing a lot of things in fear that I wouldn’t achieve them. I felt lost after graduation – all of my friends were off to college, but I never thought I would attend college because I feared I wouldn't make it and would drop out. I had no idea what my next steps should be.”
This was the moment she decided to make the most daring choice of her life and join the U.S. Marine Corps. Whether it was an act of courage or desperation, it forever changed the way she thought about herself.
“I enlisted in hopes of figuring out who I was and to find my purpose in life,” she said. “Of course, I was afraid of not making it through boot camp, that I would fail, but I didn’t!”
Morillon served as a Marine from 2014 to 2018, rising to the rank of sergeant. She met her husband, Bryant, while on a deployment in Okinawa, Japan.
Morillon still wanted to serve after separating from the military, so she became a certified peace officer with the Georgia State Patrol and later served as a representative with the Georgia Department of Veterans Service.
Two years into that career, she became pregnant with their son, Brock. While on maternity leave, she began to feel that something was missing in her career.
“Becoming a parent gives you a different mindset, a more determined one,” she explained. “I dug deep and realized I wanted to go back to school.”
After some long talks with her husband, parents and friends, Morillon decided to take another leap of faith – not unlike joining the Marines straight out of high school – and enroll in Georgia Gwinnett College’s public health program.
“I chose GGC because from the moment I stepped on campus, I felt seen. I felt like students enrolled in this college weren’t viewed as just a number,” she said. “Enrolling in college is a lot of work, but there were plenty of faculty and staff who reached out and were kind enough to help me. GGC also took a lot of my military credits, which helped me out tremendously.”
Brock was an infant when she began her GGC journey, and she feared that it would be a challenge to attend all her classes. The support she received from her professors and fellow students was unexpected and, at times, almost overwhelming.
Morillon said one of her favorite memories was when one of her professors, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry Dr. Rebecca Kalman, watched her phone while she took her first chemistry exam.
“I still remember being told we are not allowed to have our phones on us and that our phones needed to be shut off. I was so worried that if something happened to my son, no one would be able to contact me,” Morillon recalled. “So, I pulled Dr. Kalman aside and addressed my concerns. She told me she would not shut my phone off, and that she would keep it right next to her and let me know if anyone called or texted. Never in a million years would I think a professor in a college would be so attentive, and I doubt she even realizes the impact it made on me. That was just one example of how great my professors were. I have dozens more.”
Morillon is expecting her second child, so after graduation, she plans to recover and bond with Brock’s new brother for a few months before pursuing a master’s degree.