Needless to say, once I got into college at Mississippi State, it was significantly easier for me to study computer science. My undergraduate advisor, Dr. Donna Reese, was the best, most excellent advisor anyone could ask for. Or to put it into a better perspective, she was able to tame me. Not many people are able to direct my energy effectively, and even fewer are able to get through to me when I’m in one of my "I will drive myself off the cliff" obsessive problem-solving states of mind. Any previous or current manager of mine reading this right now is either cracking up laughing or rolling their eyes in agreement. She inspired me to step up and take a leadership role during my junior year as president of the MSU Student Chapter of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), an organization for computer professionals. This leadership role was simply the hands-down best opportunity of my undergraduate career. I consider Dr. Reese to be my first mentor, even though I didn’t realize it at the time.

You could say ACM is where I first got a taste of technical evangelism, the concept of connecting technology and people. I cannot say how much I thrive on this concept, but then again, some of you already know this because of my "Embrace Open Source on CodePlex" artwork on my Microsoft office window. I loved organizing the freshman class exam study halls, explaining how you can have a tic-tac-toe machine built out of K’NEX, and picking up the foot-long Subway sandwich for the yearly picnic. And there were the practical jokes, like the day I discovered my key to the ACM bulletin board also opened the other bulletin board where all the faculty and staff had their pictures and titles listed.

Oh, and thanks, Dr. Reese, for still answering your cell phone when I call to tell you about the things that amuse me at work. Yes, despite the invention of caller ID, she still answers. =D