It must have surprised the Chatham College graduating class of 2003 to hear their commencement speaker, Dr. Kathie Olsen, one of their own, tell how a single Chatham biology class changed her life. Dr. Olsen confessed that when she was in high school she actually hated science, though she loved math. "Inscribed on my high school entrance doors were the words: 'What you are to be, you are now becoming.' I KNEW I wasn't going to become a scientist," said the person who in fact not only went on to a rewarding career in neuroscience research and education but later in life became one of the most influential science policy makers in the country. As NASA's Chief Scientist in 1999-2002, Dr. Olsen served as the senior scientific advisor to NASA's administrator. In 2002, she was confirmed by the U.S. senate as the Associate Director for White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy. In that capacity, she advised the President on science & technology and provided leadership and coordination for the government's science and education policy including physical sciences, life sciences, environmental science, and behavioral and social sciences. Currently, she is the Deputy Director of the National Science Foundation.