Cook By Morning, Barista By Day, Karate Teacher At Night

Depending on what time of day you run into Emily Albrecht, she could be sporting an apron, a barista cap or a black belt. And that's just when she's working one of her three jobs.

Fresh off graduation from Newtown High School, the 18-year-old Sandy Hook resident is saving up money to take college courses in the fall and to help pay for her new car.

"I don't want to rely on my parents," she says. "They've helped me out enough."

That level of maturity and personal responsibility can likely be traced directly to one of her jobs — and passions — karate.

She's been practicing karate since she was 8, and today is a first-degree black belt who teaches Tang Soo Do, a South Korean form of martial arts, at Porco's Karate Academy on Church Hill Road.

The three main values of Tang Soo Do are traditionalism, professionalism and brotherhood.

"And we really live by that," she says. "It's awesome."

At Porco's, Albrecht teaches "Little Dragons" — children between the ages of 3 and 6. They call her Ms. Emily.

And of them, she says, "They are so cute, my little guys. They have so much energy."

"I've made some of my best friends at karate," Albrecht says. "It's amazing. You really build a family around it."

And it's through the Porco family, the owner of the karate studio, that Albrecht landed one of her other jobs. The Porcos also own Village Perk and Emily works there during the day.

She starts her days at another business in town, My Place.

With some culinary classes at NHS under her belt, Albrecht called My Place inquiring about a job about a year and-a-half ago. The owners, the Tambascio family, told her to come on in that morning for an interview.

Not knowing exactly what job they had an opening for, Albrecht showed up unsure what to expect. They asked her if she could cook and she said yes. They told her to poach an egg and she did. It was good and she was hired on the spot.

"The job teaches me how to work quickly and efficiently and how to properly care for food," she says.

But Albrecht isn't training for a career as a chef or even in the restaurant business. After taking a few classes locally, her plan is to head south to Albany State University in Georgia, where she'd like to pursue a degree in forensic science.

I guess that'll just be one more "hat" she'll wear.