THE EARLY NINETIES

The years immediately following college can be a turning point for our careers and, indeed, our lives. For Jenny they proved to be both. Jenny graduated from RPI in 1990, entering the new decade as a dyed-in-the-wool mechanical engineer. She would spend the next four years (for frame of reference, the very four years the Buffalo Bills lost all four Super Bowls) in Pittsburgh working for Westinghouse. There, Jenny worked on defense systems and even personally inspected a nuclear submarine.

Jenny and her close friend Grace in front of Warren Hall at RPI on graduation day in May 1990

Jenny at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania in August 1990

At night, Jenny went to school, studying at Pittsburgh University for a master's degree in mechanical engineering. She came within one quarter of graduating when she decided to go to law school in 1994. She was inspired to embark on this new career path when a colleague, another Westinghouse engineer, left for law school.

Jenny with her maternal grandparents and her mom in her apartment in October 1990. Her apartment complex was connected to a trendy fitness center whose membership was included with rent.

Still, even though Jenny left Pitt without the master's degree, those nights in graduate school were time well spent. The knowledge would be indispensable in her passing the patent bar (only one-third would pass on the first try as Jenny did!) and becoming a patent attorney. Both are remarkable achievements.

Jenny's puppy Teddy in late 1993. When he was naughty, Jenny disciplined him by putting the dog on top of her refigerator.

No story of Jenny's early 20s would be complete without mentioning her dog Teddy. For companionship, Jenny found Teddy as a puppy in a newspaper ad. It was love at first sight. When driving back home with him, he sat on her lap. The two got along famously, though he couldn't join her when she went to law school. So, Teddy would end up spending most of his life in the loving care of her parents.

Some fun facts:

Jenny could keep up with anyone when it came to movies from the forties through the sixties. Hitchcock was a favorite of hers. This was thanks largely to her time in Pittsburgh, where every Friday night she got two movies from Blockbuster.

While Jenny lived in Pittsburgh, its international airport became home to the world's first-ever airport mall, which opened in 1992.

Jenny was a regular at Three Rivers Stadium, where she watched Pirate Barry Bonds back when he was a speed guy. During the three summers they overlapped in Pittsburgh, he accumulated 134 stolen bases.

Even decades after moving away, Jenny still had an affinity for Pittsburgh, defending it in conversation if any cross words were ever mentioned about The Steel City.

Jenny participating in the United Way Day of Caring in West Mifflin, PA in September 1993