Condoleezza Rice

Condoleezza Rice

Amazing. Inspirational. Intelligent. Beautiful. These are all words that describe my hero Condoleezza Rice. Rice has accomplished many things in her life. She is so smart and talented in everything she does, and Rice started accomplishing all these things at a very young age!

Condoleezza, better known by her friends and family as Condi, had a wonderful life and an even better family! Condoleezza was born an only child on November 14th, 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama. Her mother, Angelena Ray Rice, was a high school teacher at Fairfield Industrial High School and Ullman High School. Her father, John Wesley Rice Jr., was a Presbyterian minister and Dean for Stillman College, a teacher and basketball coach for Fairfield High School, and a guidance counselor at Ullman High School. Condoleezza was a kindergarten piano prodigy. It just clicked whenever she heard music being played on a piano. She has always gotten good grades in school starting at a young age. This isn't a surprise since her parents are both educators. Condoleezza ended up going to college at 15, which is extraordinary! She got her masters degree at the University of Notre Dame. As you can now see, Rice had a very good life.

Condoleezza might have made many accomplishments but she struggled too. Condoleezza Rice grew up in the segregated South, surrounded by racism. That wouldn't be a great experience I'm guessing! Condoleezza also spent her early years in the civil rights struggle. How hard would that be? And lastly, in my opinion, the toughest struggle she faced was that she had to leave the man she loved. Her fiance, Rick Upchurch, retired football player from the Denver, Broncos. Condoleezza thought it wouldn't work out because he was in athletics and she was in politics. See, even people who have accomplished so many things can struggle with their lives.

Condoleezza has accomplished many things in her lifetime. Let's start from the beginning. Condoleezza was appointed to the faculty of Stanford University as a professor of political science in 1981 where she later became the 1st female African American and youngest Stanford provost. From 2000-2005, Rice was the 1st lady to be a national security advisor. And she was a national security advisor for president George H.W. Bush! Lastly, but certainly most definitely not the least, Condoleezza Rice was the 1st female African American Secretary of State! She solved so many conflicts and challenges between the U.S. and other places around the world. As you can clearly see, Condoleezza Rice has accomplished many things. 

There are many words I can use to describe Condoleezza as a great hero. Rice is a very strong-headed, determined, confident woman. She will be stubborn until she completes the task at hand. Which leads me to my next character trait. Condoleezza is very serious when it comes to work and her job. She might pop a joke here or there but otherwise, Condoleezza does what needs to be done until she has finished every detail of it. She took her job very seriously! Lastly, she is very intelligent. You probably could have guessed that, since her parents were educators and she went to college at 15 years old! These are only a few traits that describe Condoleezza as a great hero. I could go on and on with more, but these were the most important ones to me.

"I firmly believe you should never spend your time being the former anything." -Condoleezza Rice. And Condoleezza sure did live up to that quote! This is a very inspirational quote to me. It makes me want to never settle and work hard at anything I do. Condoleezza isn't just important to me, but she is important to many people around the world that she helped. Thank you.

Fun Facts

- Condoleezza's name comes from the Italian music term con dolceezza which means to play "with sweetness"

- She was the 66th Secretary of State

- She skipped 1st grade and 7th grade

- She loves to shop and was photographed for Vogue, she only posed in her own clothes though

- She used to get up at 5am every day to exercise

- She is very passionate about football, her dream job was to be a commissioner of the NFL