Fifty years ago, Deneen McClelland was born into this world.

 

Raised by a single mother, Deneen felt accustomed to the company of adults. She was always more mature than the other children at school. Even when she gained friends, she often felt annoyed at them while growing up because she felt that they were too childish.

Deneen’s mother had invested a lot in her—this encouraged her to excel in all her subjects as well as any hobbies she decided to take up. Now that she's all grown up, accepts that back then, she may have seemed smug to her peers.

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While she didn't realize this back then, Deneen hadn't learned self-awareness until years later. When Deneen was in high school, she started feeling the pressure from her mothers' high expectations and decided to incorporate extra-curricular activities in daily activities.

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With the pressure to excel, Deneen graduated at the top of her class, although she wasn't the valedictorian. Looking back, Deneen thinks that she didn't try as hard because she lacked the confidence.

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Then when it was time for college, she chose to go to a public university that was far from her home instead of the private university her mother hoped she would attend. Deneen made this choice so she could feel like a "small fish in a big pond."

 

Deneen attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania on a full academic scholarship. Deneen excelled at school and graduated college with a major in finance and a minor in accounting.  Shortly after graduation, Deneen landed a job as an accountant in a prestigious firm in Center City Philadelphia.  Where Deneen thrived, putting her accounting skills to use.