Rice student murdered in dorm remembered as a "leader" by CCBC staff

BALTIMORE — Andrea Rodriguez Avila, a student from Baltimore County who was murdered in her dorm room at Rice University, was considered to be a leader and hard worker, according to those who knew her at the Community College of Baltimore County.

Avila, from Nottingham, Maryland, graduated from Perry Hall High School in 2021 before she started her college journey at CCBC. She was getting ready to start her second semester at Rice, in Houston, Texas, when she was found shot and killed on August 26 in her Jones College dorm room with a man who killed Avila and then turned the gun on himself, police said.

On Tuesday, the community college will hold a candlelight vigil to honor Avila.  

"Academics was always No. 1"

When Renuka Purimetla and Crissy Hoffman met Avila as a first-year student at CCBC, they said they knew she would be great.

"She had great leadership qualities, and she grew extremely fast as a leader," said Hoffman, the assistant director of student engagement at CCBC. "I had the privilege of working with her on the student programming board, which is a college-wide initiative."

"You know, when she walked in the room, she lit it up," said Purimetla, a first-year experience coordinator at CCBC. 

Before transferring to Rice, Avila was also active in organizations at CCBC, including Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society. 

"She worked hard. She was really good at research," Hoffman said. "She was really good at getting all of the statistics and all of the facts, and just an overall, genuine, good-hearted individual. Academics was always No. 1 on her list."

Hoffman and Purimetla work at CCBC where they met Avila as a young student before she transferred to Rice University for the spring semester last year.

"While she was here, she got involved in different clubs, organizations, took on different leadership roles," said Hoffman.

"And just really saw her grow so quickly," said Purimetla.

Tragedy far from home

Purimetla, Hoffman and the CCBC community are now mourning after learning Avila was found murdered halfway across the country. 

Hoffman said she found out on social media. 

"Tears, you know, rolling down my face thinking, 'How could this happen? How could this have happened,'" Hoffman said. "Why did this happen to such an amazing young woman who has such a big impact on my life?"

 "It still feels surreal," said Purimetla.

"And then when her picture started going up, then all of a sudden, it puts a reality to it, that it is the person that you know. And you go from disbelief to shock to sadness," added Hoffman. 

Avila's death is felt across the CCBC campus. She had just graduated from the community college in 2023.

"She did graduate in 2023 so she has been gone for a little bit of time, but some of our current students still know her," said Hoffman.

 "It's been challenging for all of us because she's really impacted our community," said Purimetla.