Condoleezza Rice

Condoleezza Rice was born November 14, 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama in the midst of the Jim Crow era. The only child of a school teacher Angelena, and a high school guidance counselor and preacher John, she started her life with rather humble beginnings, enduring the hardships of the South’s prejudices, witnessing how her father was not allowed to vote as a democrat, because he was black, something that would later shape her decision to join the republican party in 1982, as she stated at the 2000 Republican National Convention "My father joined the republican party because the Democrats in Jim Crow Alabama would not register him to vote. The Republicans did”. Thus making the things she dreamt of as a young child come to fruition. Despite the prejudices of the time era she grew up in she never allowed anyone’s ignorance and prejudice due to her being black, to stop her from pursuing an education or achieving her political goals.
It would be through her parents John and Angelena Rice that Condoleezza learned that she could be anything she wanted to be in life, despite her society’s racial prejudices, if she worked hard to achieve it. Her parents provided her with a plethora of support and instilled in her a sense of self pride, faith, and responsibility, telling their daughter that "they wanted her to be free of any kind of shackles, mentally or physically”. John Rice also coached football and used his knowledge of the game to teach his daughter about tactics and strategy.
In 1967 the Rice family moved to Denver, Colorado, where Condoleezza’s thirst for knowledge and education continued to flourish, graduating at the age of 16, she enrolled into the University of Denver where she obtained a B.A in political science before transferring to the University of Notre Dame and getting her Master’s Degree in Political Science. She went to work with the Department of state in 1977 and continued to work her way up through the ranks in the political field, not knowing that in the future she would make history by serving as the 66th United States of America Secretary of State, making her the first female African American to hold this prestigious position. Ms. Rice was also President George W. Bush’s National Security Advisor during his first term making her the first woman ever to serve in that position.
Condoleezza Rice is an inspiration to anyone wanting to achieve major life goals, such as education. This woman continued to purse her education even when she had school counselors telling her that she was “not college material”, despite her above average grades, she managed to excel with her grades in college whilst also working different intern positions. Even though she would often be the only African American student in some of her classes, endure stares, whispers, and racist comments about her skin color she never let that stop her either.
Ms. Rice once said, “The essence of America - that which really unites us - is not ethnicity, or nationality or religion - it is an idea - and what an idea it is: That you can come from humble circumstances and do great things.” Knowing her story inspires me to continue my own pursuit of higher learning. Even though my own work schedule is very busy and chaotic, I know that to reach my own goals that I have to remain steadfast, flexible, and diligent in order to become the individual that I have decided that I will be. In order to be not only a soldier, but a leader of soldiers, I have to pursue my own goals, achieve them and also be able to positively relay the story of how I managed to do so, so that I can inspire the soldiers that I lead to become better people, soldiers, and leaders to the future of America.