I was one of those rare freshmen who declared a major upon matriculation and never changed it. I chose a degree in mathematics for two reasons: I was good at it, and I enjoyed it. I figured that was all I needed to find a job which was both challenging and fun. Although I wasn't aware of the multitude of career opportunities at the time, I knew that the sound logic skills one hones while obtaining a degree in math would be useful in doing just about anything. How can you go wrong learning skills that can be applied to any type of problem in any job?

At the end of my junior year, I began exploring the option of going to graduate school. While I enjoyed the math classes a great deal, I knew that I didn't want a job doing more or less pure math, and I didn't want to teach. I did, however, want a career working in science as opposed to business. The applied math courses I took gave me a taste of the possibilities of what I could do as a mathematician in the scientific community.

After graduation I went on to get a master's degree in applied statistics from Ohio State University, where my degree in mathematics was obviously a benefit. Students coming into the program with undergraduate degrees in statistics didn't necessarily fare as well as those coming in with a more theoretical background in mathematics.