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As a high school student in Yorktown, Virginia, I had no idea that social psychology would become my career, and understanding attitude and behavior change, my passion. In reflecting upon the influences that shaped my chosen profession and the particular research that I do, it became obvious that a series of chance meetings and events played a large role. Although as a member of my high school debate team I had a great interest in how to make the most convincing argument, it never occurred to me that one could examine persuasion as a career. Instead, it seemed that the best place to put my interest in social influence and argumentation was in the courtroom or in politics. Thus, I headed off to the University of Virginia and selected a political science major with the clear intention of eventually going to law school. That plan started to unravel when I took my first introductory psychology class. I had somehow managed to get to college without understanding that psychology was a science where you could think up interesting questions and then design research in an attempt to provide an answer. Realizing this, I was hooked, and took on psychology as a late second major largely because it also seemed highly relevant to my still intentioned law career.