Becoming an engineer was not something I planned, it happened strictly by accident. I was born and raised in a small town in Montana, where young women were expected to become homemakers, secretaries, or teachers. None of those areas interested me—I wanted to be a great artist. I spent my high school years preparing for a career in the commercial art field, taking art, speech, journalism, and mechanical drawing classes. In fact, I was the first female student to take mechanical drawing, a major breakthrough in those days. Because I was concentrating on a liberal arts background, my last math class was in my sophomore year. In 1971, I graduated from Anaconda High School, ready to conquer the world of commercial art.

My art training started at the College of Great Falls, in Great Falls, Montana. I spent one miserable year there. I didn't like being told when to draw, who to draw, and what style to imitate. Art was something I had enjoyed, but it was no longer enjoyable.

The summer of 1972 found me at home, looking for a job so I could afford to go back to school, even though now, I didn't know what I was going to major in. My mechanical drawing background got me a work-study draftsperson position for the Forest Service in Butte, Montana. That was my first exposure to the world of engineering. Short finances forced me to reconsider my choice of colleges, and I decided to stay at home and attend the local university, Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology.