So then after I said I was going to be an architect, then I had to figure out what that meant. And I started looking at what schools had architectural courses and three schools, sort of, stood out in my search: University of Pennsylvania, Cornell and MIT. My father had graduated from MIT and so he was very thrilled that I was even considering going to his alma mater. And so one weekend we went to Boston and looked at MIT, and then went to Ithaca and looked at Cornell, and went to Philadelphia and looked at Penn. I applied to all three and I got accepted at all three. And my father said: 'Oh good, you're going to go to MIT'. I said: 'Well, Dad, I hate to disappoint you but I'm going to go to Cornell'.

[Q] Why?

It was the most beautiful school. I mean it's amazing, just idyllic in every respect. It was really the most beautiful campus, the most beautiful setting. I was too young to be able to discern, you know, the difference between the educational qualities of the three schools, but it just seemed to me, you know, Cornell was just so far and away a better and physical environment in which to study. And MIT was like a factory and University of Pennsylvania is, sort of stuck in the city. You know, I said: 'There's no question'. So I chose Cornell and I'm very happy I did.