I was shielded from stereotypes during my young and impressionable years. I didn’t realize they existed until maybe middle school, and by then, I’d already decided I wanted to build the Bionic Woman.
I was always drawn to ‘techy’ stuff, but I also liked what people would consider typical girly things. I would just as quickly ask for a RadioShack kit as a Betty Crocker oven, and get both. I learned to solder at the same time I was playing with dolls (not necessarily Barbie, although I did collect them for a while and have some that are quite valuable). In the third grade, I started programming in BASIC on a Commodore 64 computer in the basement.
My dad majored in engineering, and my mom majored in math. Both were large influencers in my life. From an early age, I loved math, puzzles, computers, and gaming, and I seemed to have a knack for them. These things just seemed so logical. There was always a right or wrong answer; you just had to figure it out.
By this time, I was a total sci-fi nut. I would watch anything in that domain: Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, Wonder Woman. There was one show I particularly liked: The Bionic Woman. I thought the concept was ingenious.
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