"For me, my exposure came from being a poor college kid who couldn't afford a Windows license. I also worked in a bookstore and had a nice discount on Red Hat Linux 5.2. I used it for a little while and then branched out to try various other distributions: Debian, Slackware, and even FreeBSD wouldn't install for one reason or another. I found Gentoo Linux in its 1.0 to 1.2 timeframe which finally worked correctly with my network card (the 'it works with everything' 3Com 3c509 adapter). From there I became a developer, maintaining several packages for the distribution until my retirement in 2007. I certainly would not be where I am today if it were not for that discounted Red Hat Linux 5.2, and who could have thought that some 20 years later, I would be working at the very same Red Hat?" —
Lisa Seelye
