Ephraim Avara

Born into a conservative family, Ephraim was raised essentially in a single-parent home as his father’s chronic migraines wrested him out of a successful career in the financial sector on Earth. Growing up, Ephraim was a quiet youth into adolescence who spent his time living in his imagination and with few friends. His parent’s divorce at the start of his secondary school career was a turning point in which he decided to make a life-change: he began to start playing sports, dropped his baby-fat, and found himself living a different life seemingly overnight. Despite his change of circumstances and newfound confidence, he never forgot what life was like on the outskirts of the social spheres when he was a boy.

Drawn in many different directions professionally, Ephraim knew that he wanted to work with people and be a helper as best he could. He settled on studying psychology and subsequently marriage and family counseling in graduate school, but was always struck by not being sure which demographic he felt called to serve. When he met his wife, Sara, and her military family, he found his sense of vocation in Starfleet. Her willingness to raise a family in a military context led him to commission into Starfleet via Officer Development School.

His transition into the military was jarring, but with time settled in well with his desire for structure and rigor. His first two ship-bound tours saw him find his voice as a counselor, initially serving the on-board civilian population before working with the combat minds of the tactical/security department of a Nebula-class vessel. Ephraim found himself especially drawn to those who put themselves in the way of conflict, and nearing the end of his tour on the Rutledge, with the support of his wife, volunteered for an embedded tour as a field therapist with a Starfleet Security Colonial Defense unit.

With the lessons he learned from deployment in mind, he was able to merit a posting on Earth at the Academy teaching and counseling outgoing officers with tendencies toward post-traumatic stress disorder. Being approved for a double-tour on Earth, the Avaras started a family, in which Ephraim has become ever-increasingly outnumbered by the fairer sex. His move into senior command came with a Chief Counselor posting on the Galaxy-class USS Westminster, with a steep learning curve of serving as a staff officer and building a relationship with the commanding officer. His family growing and his career moving in a positive direction, Ephraim and the Avaras received their posting orders to Starbase 38. Ephraim is excited to experience a starbase’s culture and adapt his skills and experience to a new Starfleet context.