I was raised in San Antonio, Texas, where I played flute in my high school band, rode & showed a family friend's Arabian horse, and somehow survived my hair and fashion choices of the 80s. I then attended Texas A&M University in College Station for my undergraduate degree and all of the enriching non-academic "education" that being a Fightin' Texas Aggie involves. I helped build Bonfires. I sang in the Aggie Women's Chorus. I pledged a sorority. I spent my senior summer interning with the Walt Disney World College Program in Orlando, Florida. In 1996 I moved to Austin where I spent the next ten years with companies including Dell , Four Seasons Hotels, and AT&T Wireless. I worked in sales, customer service, and tech support roles. Then, in a twist of fate that would change my future path, I took a job as a case manager for a local Social Security disability attorney.