She studied photography in Maryland at Frederick High School (FHS) with Dr. Margaret Dowell co-author of Addiction and Art (Johns Hopkins Press), while at FHS she received awards from the state of Maryland for excellent photography and she was selected to attend the summer program at the prestigious CTY in 1982.
In 1979, Center for Talented Youth (CTY) was created as an independent entity to administer the Johns Hopkins Talent Search and summer programs, while Dr. Stanley continued to focus on offering educational counseling to the ablest mathematical reasoners throughout the United States.