"I was fortunate to have attended elementary, junior high, and high school in public schools that were outstanding academically. My high school was Hunter High, an all girls magnate school, which only accepted the best students who scored high on admission tests in English and Mathematics from New York City's five boroughs. It was therefore, not a neighborhood school, but one to which students rode busses or subways for many miles."
Even though Norma was an only child, she was not spoiled. She credits her Father with nurturing the desire to pursue a traditionally male profession. "Although both my parents spent a lot of time with me. I did lots of things with my father that girls did not ordinarily do, things like going fishing, painting the house, and doing carpentry work. I think that because of my father's influence, the typical female careers did not appeal to me. My grades were good enough to consider any profession, but I had an interest in art, the sciences, and math. During the time I was thinking about my career choices, my father said, 'What about architecture?' Before he suggested it, I had never considered that profession. The field of architecture required all the skills and interests that I had, so I seriously considered his suggestion."
