Condoleezza Rice: A Woman like No OtherEssay Preview: Condoleezza Rice: A Woman like No OtherReport this essayCondoleezza Rice: A Woman Like No Other“I lived in a place where you couldnt go have a hamburger at a restaurant, but my parents were telling me I could be president,” says one of the most powerful and prominent leaders in todays society (www.nicholaskralev.com). As a former international studies scholar and a Stanford University provost, and now President Bushs national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice has drawn both fire and praise for her extraordinary mixture of Southern charm, intellectual tenacity, and no-nonsense leadership.
Born November 14, 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama, Condoleezza Rice, also known as “Condi”, lived during the time when the town became the epicenter of the civil rights movement (www.nicholaskralev.com). Her name was inspired by the Italian musical notation con dolcezza, meaning to play “with sweetness.” John, her father, pastured Westminster Presbyterian Church and was dean of the historically black Stillman College. Angelena, her mother, taught music and science at an all-black school. Both saw to it that their daughter had the best things in life; a rare family pedigree, a devout faith, and a strong sense of self-worth. Rice claims her childhood during segregations taught her determination against adversity, and the need to be twice as good as non-minorities (
) in order to be an outstanding student. She is not a stranger to school, having attended in 1963 and 1961. She lives in South Carolina with a family of four (www.nytimes.com). Condezza Rice: Born June 2, 1955 in Birmingham, Alabama, Condoleezza Rice lives in her hometown of New Jersey with her mother, John. Her father is an English teacher who graduated from college with a B.A. in philosophy and applied to law school in 1963, graduating with a Master of Arts in English writing from the University of Tennessee. Her four siblings, John and Kathleen, are from the same family: Patricia J. and Elizabeth E. Rice in Birmingham, Alabama. Condezza also identifies as Jewish, a significant Jewish-Indian-American that raised the children of American and Indian parents together. Condezza Rice is of a religious background of Methodist and Quaker denominations. She attended the St. David’s Seminary in Nashville between 1885 to 1896. She graduated from a seminary in Nashville as a graduate student. She holds a masters in science at Columbia University. Condezza wrote several poetry under the name of a prominent writer, including the The Poem of Condie (New York, 1975), titled By Your Own Words (NYC, 1968) and An American Odyssey (LA, 1983). She studied at a black university and was a member of the Memphis High School English Department in 1969-1970 where she was internant and participated in a number of youth social events. Condezza Rice has a B.A. in linguistics and computer science from the University of California, Berkeley. She graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in biology in 1968 as an undergraduate. Condezza Rice graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1973. She worked for several media organizations including U.S. News & World Report, Washington Square Daily, the New York Herald Tribune, and The Sunday Times newspaper. Condezza is well versed as a journalist and a contributor to public affairs articles. Condezza Rice’s earliest contributions include articles on radio broadcasts to her family to which she gave the name of her daughter and her first child, Susan. Condezza Rice’s public relations and communications activities are done in partnership with her sister, Janet Jackson. In addition to publications, Condezza Rice has also worked as a personal communications representative for the New York Police Department. She is currently employed as a consultant on city planning, development, education and employment issues. Condezza Rice is interested in public affairs, law enforcement, education, civic engagement, education, diversity and development. The relationship between Rice and her father began with the civil rights movement in Birmingham, Alabama. Upon her father’s arrival in Birmingham, Marion Rice was invited to join the City of Birmingham. He attended the same school’s summer preparatory school where she attended high school (1942-
As the only child of educators, the importance of learning was impressed upon Rice from day one. She learned to read when most children were still struggling to walk and by the age of three had begun lessons in a wide range of areas such as classical piano,
figure skating, ballet, and French. A talented child, both by heritage and self-motivation, Rice was in eighth grade by age eleven (www.christianitytoday.com). At, fifteen, Condi entered the University of Denver with the aspiration of becoming a concert pianist. But things soon changed as Condi attended a course on international politics taught by Josef Korbel, father of Madeleine Albright. She graduated, at nineteen, cum laude from the University of Denver with a bachelors degree in political science (www.nicholaskralev.com). She had no idea what she was going to do with the major, but she knew that the job market had to be brighter for political scientists than it was for concert pianists (www.christianitytoday.com). In 1975, she got her masters degree from the University of Notre Dame and her Ph. D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1981.
At the tender age of twenty-six, Condi became a Stanford University professor of Political Science and won two of the universitys highest teaching honors. After her teaching career she served as Stanford Universitys provost for six years before taking a one year leave of absence (Anderson 208). She immediately began working for George W. Bushs election campaign in 2000. On December 17, 2000, Rice was picked to serve as National Security Advisor and stepped down from her position at Stanford (
Since her appointment as National Security Advisor, Rice has become a controversial figure. She has captured the African-American community, with some praising her role as the first black National Security