Patricia Anton

My education and my training in music and in the arts really did prepare me for eventually what would become my life's work. We founded Anton Airfood in 1989. Our first location was at Reagan National Airport, and by the time we sold the company fifteen years later, we were in about 20 airports across the country, we had over 2,000 employees, and through the years we were recognized as the best food and beverage operator in the world. When I look back at my education, and the University of Rhode Island, I look back and I think about all the components that makes one successful in business. In the arts world there is a striving for excellence every day, in everything that you do. I have a lot of friends that tease me and say that this girl from West Warwick, Rhode Island, is living the American dream, and I am. I am so fortunate, I am so blessed. But unless we had kept our eyes open along the way and looked for opportunity, and looked for new ways of doing things, and seize the opportunity, and put ourselves in a position to be successful, then we would not be where we are today. I had dreams when I was younger, I never said them out loud, and I never truly believed that they could come true. So my advice would be: dream, allow yourself to dream, and dream big.