Janet Yellen: the teenage years

Even as a teen, friends of future Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen new she was destined for big things, Business Insider reports.

By Staff | October 10, 2013 | Last updated on October 10, 2013

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Friends of future Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen knew she was destined for big things — even when she was a teenager, Business Insider reports.

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President Barack Obama officially nominated her to replace current Chair Ben Bernanke when he steps down Jan. 31, 2014. She’ll be the first woman in the job. BI spoke to Yellen’s school friends to learn what she was like growing up.

It turns out her success was predictable, say her old friends.

Yellen was in a gifted class at her Brooklyn, N.Y., junior high, and she edited the high school paper.

She was well-rounded and especially liked English and biology, and when she graduated she was named “Senior Celebrity” and “Class Scholar.”

She went to Pembroke, the women’s-only section of Brown University, where she took her first economics class. Friends say it was easy to tell that was her passion.

“She was like, on fire,” says one friend.