Young had a double major in English and linguistics, reflecting her interests in turning thought into language and the possibilities of communication with other life forms (either on Earth or elsewhere), as well as science-fiction and fantasy literature, and creative writing.
[1] Young took several secretarial positions in sequence before working at IBM on one of the first word processors.
"[1] Young answered an advertisement in the Chicago Tribune for a game editor at TSR.
Young worked for TSR in that capacity from September 1984 to 1985, then worked on a local newspaper while editing game modules for TSR as a freelancer.
In January 1987, Young began working in TSR's magazine department as the assistant editor for Dungeon Adventures.