When Tortorice first came to UNT, her original intent was to study in the College of Music. But after personally seeing how competitive it was, she decided to go in another direction.

She chose to pursue a degree in accounting instead and learned quickly that it was a great career path that was in high demand.

Along with learning about taxes, auditing, internal controls and studying for her certified public accountant exam, Tortorice played tennis with members of the UNT tennis team and was a member of the International Order of Rainbow for Girls.

Not only did she like that the campus is centrally located in DFW, but she also has cherished memories from her time in college – from the friends she made along the way to gaining financial independence because of her career choice.

In 1989, she graduated with a bachelor's of science degree in accounting control systems and became a certified public accountant.

She went on to work as a CPA in DFW and is currently an accounting specialist for TXU Energy, where she has been an employee for over 25 years.

During her career, she continued to maintain a healthy lifestyle and routine to train for marathons  – from waking up at 5 a.m. to get in a run before work to working out during her lunch break.

"The key is making it a habit by doing it at the same time every day, plus you know you will feel better when you are done," Tortorice says. "Working out not only boosts your energy, but also improves your mood and your health."

Tortorice has even taken it upon herself to compose a biking team at TXU Energy in the fight against MS.

"I put on marathons for MS and also lead the TXU Energy bike MS team," Tortorice says. "The TXU Energy team has raised over $1.3 million and I have personally raised over $170K."

All of her hard work and training have led her to achieving the impossible.