USD Magazine, Winter 1995

By Trisha J. Ratledge

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itting with her fellow undergraduates at commencement last May 22, Sherri Bliss was in no mood to celebrate. She was con– templating her future amid the revelry, and it gave her pause. Little did she know that three minutes of the ceremony would change the course of her life. "All through college, I had been debating going into business or education," she recalls, knowing that pursuing her dream to be a guidance counselor would require the added expense of graduate school. "l had finally opted to do something in busi– ness. I figured that I would make some money first and then go into education later. It was a struggle, and even as I was making the decision, I knew I wasn't doing the right thing." Dismissing those instincts, Bliss already had begun inter– viewing for management training programs with financial com– panies in Los Angeles. So, she sat with her classmates at Torero Stadium in the late-morning San Diego sun, the various speakers interrupting her uneasy thoughts, her cap and gown symbolizing a beginning that she could not embrace.