Celia Desmond Snippet A

Celia Desmond describes her unusual early career journey – although she loved mathematics as a high-school student, she was counselled to consider a career in nursing or teaching. She became a kindergarten teacher, earning a degree in mathematics by taking night courses. The neighbours in her apartment building were undergraduate engineering students – and she found their homework interesting. When she married and moved, there were no teaching opportunities, so she took a masters degree in systems engineering.