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74 Accidental biostatistics professorMy maternal grandfather, whose public education ended after 8th grade,fanned my passion for math and analysis by showing me math puzzles andtricks, how to calculate baseball statistics like RBI, and how to play checkersand chess, in which he was a local champion.Ichosetheunpopularacademictrackinmyinnercityworkingclasshighschool simply because it offered the most advanced math courses. I had noplans to go to college.I decided that typing would be a useful skill but was denied enrollmentbecause I was not in the commercial track. However, I persisted and wasenrolled. When personal computers appeared a few decades later, I was fastand accurate on the keyboard, unlike most of my male academic colleagues.A gifted math teacher in 11th and 12th grades, Ms. Reese, gave a 10-minute drill (mini-test) to students at the beginning of each daily class. Sheencouraged my math interest and challenged me daily with a different andmore difficult drill, unknown to other students in the class.A female high school counselor, Dr. Speer, strongly advised me to go tocollege, a path taken by few graduates of my high school and no one in myimmediate family. I applied to three schools. I won substantial scholarships totwo state schools (University of Maryland and Western Maryland) but choseto attend Gettysburg College, in Pennsylvania, with less financial aid, becauseit was smaller and seemed less intimidating to me.7.2 College years and discovery of statisticsCollege was my first exposure to middle class America. I majored in math andplanned to be a high school math teacher of the caliber of Ms. Reese. However,Irashlydiscardedthisgoalinmysophomoreyearafterdislikingintenselymyfirst required education course. In my junior year I became aware of statisticsvia two math courses: probability and applied business statistics. However,two courses during my senior year solidified my lifelong interest in statistics:mathematical statistics and abnormal psychology.A new two-semester math-stat course was taught by a reluctantDr. Fryling, the only math (or college) faculty member who had studied statisticaltheory. He commented frequently that he felt unqualified to teach thecourse, but I thought he did a great job and I was wildly excited about thetopic. I worked all assigned problems in the textbook and additional onesout of general interest. When midterm exam time approached, Dr. Frylingstated that he did not know how to construct an exam for the course. Withoutthinking, and not yet having learned the social mores of college life, myhand shot up, and I said that I could construct a good exam for the course.The other students noticeably groaned. After class Dr. Fryling discussed withme my unorthodox suggestion and took me up on my offer. After reviewing