“It made her more tolerant of other lifestyles and more accepting of other people’s opinions and she learned not to judge on looks,” Fritz-Birch said. “She realized the importance of listening. It made her more politically aware in that she looked between the lines and didn’t take things at face value. She paid close attention to candidates and never missed voting and she worked as an election judge. She was always ashamed of not graduating from high school and when she got home, she bought many books.”