Starting today, I will be reflecting on some of the milestones in my life, beginning with my college years at UC Santa Barbara (1986 to 1990), the happiest time of my life! I took daily walks or bike rides along the beach and expanded my intellectual and cultural horizons, double-majoring in International Relations and Spanish Literature, and I also had the opportunity to live abroad two summers in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Suffice it to say I fell in love with Mexican culture and history and henceforth considered myself to be an honorary citizen of Mexico!

(As a postscript, looking back now, one of the most amazing aspects of my college years is the fact that, outside high-level military research circles, none of us had cell phones or email accounts, and furthermore, e-books and “learning management systems” like Canvas and Blackboard did not yet exist. What bliss!)