Non-Linear Optimization

My career path hasn’t been straight, but I’m finding solutions.

A Series of Left Turns

“Hold on… a microbiology degree and now you’re teaching Business Analytics?”

Fair question.

Math was my first love.

Chemistry followed…until P-Chem knocked me off track.

Let’s try microbiology.
Lab coat, injected mice, ran gels. I loved it…but we didn’t find that antibody.

Time for developmental biology.
Traced fetal rat hearts beating, frame by frame, until the grant ran out.

Luckily, I was doing an MBA at night.

Optimization modeling stirred something long dormant.
“Get a PhD,” my professor said.

So I did, and fell in love with teaching.

Business Analytics is just applied math.
My first love drew me home.

In 2011, in Romania, we hiked toward a distant waterfall. Twenty years younger, my former students surged up the rugged mountain path. I took it slower, pausing to photograph wildflowers and spectacular views. I didn’t reach the falls—but my journey was still perfect.

Hiking Toward the Mist

mountain path twists wide
switchbacks come without warning
mist veils the summit
yet each turn brings a new view
the journey brings its rewards.

Common Spotted Orchid, Carpathian Mountains, 2011. A quiet reward along the trail.

What about you?

Has your path through life taken some turns and led you to unexpected places? Feel free to share your story.