New York City native, Sallie Pero lived with her family while she attended Barnard College, the all-women liberal arts school affiliated with Columbia University. Only 16 years old when she began her studies in 1909, Pero excelled at math and athletics. Between field hockey, basketball, and baseball, Pero played a sport every season. Physical activity paired well with her studies. When she graduated in 1913, Pero received Barnard’s Kohn Mathematics Prize and went on to complete a master’s program in mathematics at Columbia University. She started out as a substitute teacher in New York City schools but left teaching to work as a computer at American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) in 1915. FOR MORE
