After obtaining her B.S. in chemistry and biology from Mississippi College and doing some post-graduate work, Temple took a hiatus from the academic science world at a time when “plasmid” was a little known term. When she returned a decade later to get an M.S. in biochemistry from Louisiana Tech University and a Ph.D. from Medical College of Virginia, the genetic revolution was in full swing. Postdoctoral work provided opportunities to work with Bordetella and bacteriophages; these research interests continue to the present. She taught for 10 years at Drew University, a small liberal arts college in New Jersey (1,400 undergraduates) and now for 15 years at James Madison University. Teaching microbiology, molecular biology and genomics, and partnering with students and peers in research has been a driving passion for her. She has also been involved in faculty mentoring and active in ASM for many years, and has a network of colleagues around the globe.