Women in Computing and Information Technology Oral History Project, 2017-18, 35/3/96. Klara Nahrstedt is the Ralph M. and Catherine V. Fisher Professor as well as the Director of the Coordinated Science Laboratory at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. She joined the Computer Sciences Department in 1995, after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with her Ph.D. in Computer and Information Sciences. Nahrstedt has received a number of awards and accolades for her many accomplishments in the field. She is both an IEEE and ACM Fellow. In this segment of her interview, Nahrstedt discusses her early influences and her decision to pursue an education and career in computer sciences. For Part 2 of this interview, click hereThis interview is part of the ACM-grant funded project "From Margin to Center: Reframing the History of Women in Computing and Information Technology through Oral Histories."