Freewrite #2A: Three Significant People

I guess if you are thinking about three significant people who influenced your career decisions, you would likely first think of positive influences. However, there can be both positive and negative influences. Let me explain. I arrived at the decision to become a Biology major just last semester. I had thought about it frequently during my life, but was swayed away from it by my sister. She is 13 years older than I, and when I was still in grade school, she was off to college to study medical technology. She later became a research scientist and got into management in a major pharmaceutical company in NJ. She ended up moving to another company because she claimed there was a lot of job descrimination for women in the sciences and that was her experience. She job hopped a lot for awhile and eventually got into FDA regulatory affairs, left to form her own consulting company, and then returned to the work force when the economy slowed down and she lost clients.
If it were not for my wonderful Biology professor last semester, who was very encouraging and helpful, I would probably still be a Psychology major, since I was mainly interested in brain research, and not the typical Psychologist type profession of a counselor or therapist. When I realized that I enjoyed all forms of science, but particularly more than just the workings of the brain, I decided to no longer heed my sister's warnings and jump in head first. I bumped into my Bio professor this afternoon between classes and she took the time to stop and ask me how I was doing and if I needed any help with anything this semester. Her love of Biology is so apparent, that it's contagious!
A third influence is probably currently my Developmental Psych professor, who is very much biology-oriented as well. I'll probably be taking Physiological Psychology with her next semester.I just have to get through Chemistry, which I once enjoyed despite the Math involved, and I will be on my way to my new career - well, maybe after Grad school, that is!