Untitled Document
 Condoleezza
Rice is one of the most powerful and influential women in the
world. She is the 66th United States Secretary of State. She is
the first black woman secretary of state. And she is called “America’s
face to the world.” Americans respect her strength and determination. She is called
“Condi” as a nickname.
Condoleezza Rice was born on November 14, 1954 in Alabama. Her mother
was a music teacher. She taught Rice to play the piano. (She still
enjoys playing the piano. In fact, she is a concert-level pianist!) Her father was
a pastor and college principal. As an African-American,
Condi grew up with racial discrimination. Her
parents taught her that education was the best armor against discrimination.
Rice entered the University of Denver at the early age of 15. She
graduated at 19 in 1974 with
a bachelor’s degree in political science. She earned
her master’s degree at the University
of Notre Dame in 1975; and a doctorate from the University
of Denver’s Graduate School of International Studies in 1981. Today,
Rice is regarded as one of America’s brightest and best. In addition to English, Condi
speaks Russian, German, French, and Spanish.
 In
1981, Rice became the youngest political science professor at Stanford University.
In 1993, she became the first woman and first African-American provost at Stanford. She
worked there for six years.
As a professor of political science, Rice has won two of the highest
teaching honors: the Walter J. Gores
Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1984, and the School of Humanities
and Sciences Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1993. Also,
she has written numerous articles and several books
on international relations and
foreign affairs.
In 1999, Rice became President Bush’s National Security Advisor
during his first term. She served as the Soviet
and East European Affairs Advisor. Condi became the 66th Secretary
of State on January 26, 2005.
 She is the
first black woman, second African-American (after her predecessor Colin Powell,
who served from 2001 to 2005), and second woman (after Madeleine Albright,
who served from 1997 to 2001) to serve as Secretary of State.
Condi is also the first to occupy the key post of national security
advisor. She spends almost every weekend with President Bush and his
wife Laura at Camp David, giving them useful advice. |
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