I graduated from the University of Chicago with a bachelor's degree in geology, and then from MIT with dual master's degrees in civil engineering and technology and policy. I worked in Cambridge, MA and Wyomissing, PA as a civil engineer for 10 years before becoming a math teacher. I earned my teaching certificate from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, and spent my first year teaching at Brandywine Heights High School in Topton, PA.