it became evident early on to lawrence and denise bennett that their daughter, zelda, would go far in life. not only was she intelligent, but she had imagination. instead of playing with toys like other children her age, she was playing pretend and expressing a dream to become an astronaut. that childhood dream evolved into a desire of figuring out how spacecraft work and wanting to help make them possible.

her parents were the type that wanted their daughter to avoid their mistakes and make something of herself, so they encouraged her every step of the way. they told her to fight for what she wanted and to never give up. it was exactly what she did, even in her later years of high school. the mentality of the town she grew up in was one that women needed to taking care of the home and raising babies, so her intent to enter a stem field made few happy. despite being told she would never be successful, she never faltered and managed to graduate at the top of her class.

she went on to pursue a degree in computer science from the georgia institute of technology. college was something of an awakening for zelda, who had never been the type to rebel under her parents' roof. with them miles away, she felt more compelled to misbehave, though she never let it get in the way of her studies. achieving her goal was far too important to be curbed by partying. she was able to find a nice middle ground between fun and her studies, and being surrounded like-minded individuals and people that didn't believe she ought not be there made it much easier to stay focused.

of course, life couldn't resist throwing a wrench in when zelda hit her senior year. she was faced with a professor who, like those at home, thought she was better suited for something more "lady-like" and did not need to continue her studies. at first, she let him get to her and turned to alcohol to cope. it was when her grades took a hit and a friend intervened that she realized she was letting a sexist get his way. she turned things around and fought, avoiding the campus nightlife in favor of making up for her temporary lapse of judgment. she improved her grades and managed to pass all of her classes, even the one where the deck was stacked against her. this infuriated the man who was determined to see her fail, so he took matters into his own hands. just a week before she was due to graduate, he took her by surprise as she was walking to her apartment and raped her in the backseat of his car.

zelda was shaken by it but afraid to speak up out of fear that it would look badly on her or might prevent her from graduating. she kept her mouth shut, wanting to forget it had ever happened, but it had changed her in ways she couldn't see. once inviting and friendly, she became more closed off and even developed a fear of leaving home alone. her plan had been to pursue her master's at the same school, but she knew that she couldn't stay near her attacker and be able to live a normal life. so, she made a last minute change and accepted an offer to boston university. her parents were not thrilled, and, because she could not explain her reasons without admitting what had happened, it seemed like an excuse to get away. they were still supportive, as they always had been, so made no move to stop her.

boston was an entirely different world; it was the first place she had truly felt accepted outside of her own home. she missed her parents and made it a point to visit whenever she could, but she realized she could easily see boston becoming her home after she finished work on her master's. it was there that she realized it was okay to be herself, that no one was going to judge her or except her to fall into gender roles. it was because of a friend she met in grad school that she realized she was bisexual. it was because of that same friend she was able to tell her parents not only that but what had happened years before regarding her rape. they were stunned, as any parent would be, but there was no judgment or blame, only acceptance.

after completing her master's, she continued her research work within the engineering department on a more full-time basis. after working there for a few years, she found a job with an aircraft manufacturer and has been working there ever since.