of the human body, how they all work together, and how easily one tiny part can go slightly awry and cause major problems. It made me realize what a miracle it is that any of us are healthy and that our bodies work correctly! I loved that class so much that I knew I wanted a career in one of the health sciences, and perhaps study ways to help my brother and others with similar diseases. I studied nursing in college and joined the military for a summer internship to gain some work experience. Through a ridiculously embarrassing failure to read the fine print in the application, I ended up being assigned to a maximum security federal prison hospital. [Yikes!] While I was there, I worked with a lot of patients who had HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and sexually transmitted diseases. Some people would have made a run for it, but not me; I became fascinated with infectious diseases. I pursued a master’s degree to work with HIV/AIDS patients, but couldn’t find a job after graduation. A friend of mine persuaded me to work in hospital epidemiology, which is the study of infectious diseases that occur in hospitals. I loved that career because it combined a lot of my interests, but I became tired of outbreaks that occurred (or were reported, anyway) on Friday afternoons and consumed my entire weekend or holiday “breaks”.In 2000, a friend of mine who worked at Saint Louis University told me that he had received a grant to study bioterrorism (the intentional use of biological agents to harm or kill civilians) and asked me if I wanted to make a career change. It sounded like a quiet career with fewer outbreaks, so I jumped on it. One year later, 9/11 occurred and was followed quickly by the largest bioterrorism attack in U.S. history, the 2001 anthrax incident. Soon after, the world discovered a brand new disease that had a relatively high death rate, with no known vaccine or treatment: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). That outbreak fascinated me because it started in Hong Kong and spread around the entire world in less than 2 days! My career expanded at that time to examine not only bioterrorism, but also naturally occurring outbreaks of new diseases, such as SARS, and disaster preparedness in general.SLU decided to develop a master’s degree program in biosecurity (preparing professionals to identify and prevent the spread of large-scale infectious disease events). In order to teach and do research in that area, I needed a PhD, so I went back to school. Since getting my PhD, I have continued to work in this field and I still love it. Every day is different, exciting, and challenging because there are always new events occurring. In addition to my experience with 9/11, anthrax, and SARS, I’ve helped respond to Hurricane Katrina, the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, the Haitian earthquake, the Japanese disaster (Tsunami, earthquake, and nuclear meltdown), Hurricane Sandy, and many other disasters. I hadn’t even heard of smallpox or anthrax when I was in high school, and this career option was never mentioned to me by a school guidance counselor. I could never have anticipated the career that I have found, but I honestly can’t imagine doing anything else.