bio (cont.)

I'm not sure exactly what happened, but in high school, I somehow got really incredibly interested in math. I think it started with the seed idea that if I worked really hard in school, I'd be successful and earn a lot of money with which I could throw really fun parties and invite all of my friends. And I was good at math, so I put all of that energy and desire into it. It became sort of an obsession. But it was fascinating to me, too. The beauty in its simplicity. I loved number theory.

The math fever led me to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.. the greatest school on Earth, as far as I'm concerned. There, I lived in a bubble, got very little sleep, and DRANK UP! from the firehose of knowledge. Occasionally I'd be crossing the sidewalk in front of the big dome, and I'd look up at it and feel awestruck that I'd made it to the world's best engineering school and that my hard work paid off.

It was really really really hard. Not just the academics. But learning how to cope in an environment where everyone is used to being the best and is defined by that, and then they're suddenly thrown into a place where their skills are commonplace. Lots of egos, lots of struggling to find identities. One time I got a B+ in a class that was very easy for me, and it nearly destroyed me. It still tastes bitter, to tell you the truth.

But I did alright. I overcame many of my feelings of mediocrity by becoming a superstar on the Women's Track & Field team. I was a pole vaulter and heptathlete, and I loved competing. I also managed to graduate with my Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Computer Science in four years.

< Prev     Next >