I grew up in Superior, Wisconsin, in a strongly connected, education-oriented family. My father was a high school graduate, and my mother spent 1 month in college before leaving to support her siblings. Both of my parents, as well as my grandmother, stressed the importance of education. Every Sunday we visited my mother’s large clan in Duluth for a full day of play. I with eight or ten cousins would laugh and run, while my parents conversed with the other adults. We were close, literally. Within 100 m, I could find my family, my grandmother, who was next door as was my uncle and aunt, who lived with their two kids. Annual family gatherings were normal, and family was important, a strong element in my life
