Rohrer explains that her parents expected her to go on to college while she was growing up during the 1930s and 1940s. Rohrer explains that education was something that her parents emphasized as important, although her mother wanted her to go to college not necessarily so that she could pursue a career, but because she needed something to "fall back on" in case something ever happened to her husband. In this regard, Rohrer notes that marriage (in addition to college) was another family expectation of her. She did indeed attend college at Western Maryland College where she studied education. Interestingly (given her mother's expectations), she only taught briefly before starting a family and explains that she never worked full-time until her husband's death in the early 1960s.