In high school, I was in advanced math, science, and English classes until my senior year, when I became tired of studying so much. I switched to an easier course load that included economics, regular English, and electives. This way, I could continue my social activities, and became a Senior Favorite upon graduation. I was even Salutatorian, with the second-highest grade point average in my high school graduating class.
However, when I reached the University of Houston in Houston, Texas, and took general and organic chemistry, along with a few other difficult courses, I regretted not continuing with trigonometry and chemistry in high school. Being Senior Favorite did not help me in my studies, but I managed to graduate with a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1971 after only three and a half years in college. During those years, I was also working a minimum of twenty hours per week in a hospital business office, using math to calculate patient bills, insurance reimbursements, laboratory and drug charges, and general accounting assignments.
At St. Paul Ramsey Medical Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, I completed a Dietetic Internship. There I used math on a daily basis to assess patient's nutritional status and calculate diet prescriptions. Next, I successfully completed a National Registration Examination given by the American Dietetic Association Commission on Dietetic Registration, and became a registered dietitian.
In my first two professional jobs, I was a clinical dietitian, which involved calculating nutritional needs and counseling patients with their diets.