Sample essay topic, essay writing: Condoleeza Rice - 1653 words
.. as a concert pianist looked grim in the face of the competition. While she was certainly good and continues to play with the best to this day some people, in her words, are simply brilliant. In searching for a new major she enrolled in a course that would dramatically change her future beyond what she ever considered. The course was "International Politics" and the lesson that day was on Stalin and taught by Josef Korbel, former Central European diplomat and father of Madeleine Albright. According to Condi, "everything just clicked" after hearing Korbel's lecture.
The mystique of Soviet studies was typical of the challenge Condi was looking for and she soon developed an unprecedented passion for Russia. She and Dr. Korbel established an extremely strong bond and he adopted her in an intellectual sense yielding a relationship similar to Condi's with her father and Korbel's with his only daughter Madeleine. Condi's parents fully supported her decision but even her father appeared shocked when he claimed that "blacks just didn't do political science." True to her style, Condi took on Russian with a vengeance, learning it in half the time it takes most people. In order to understand Rice's complexity one must note that this was all while she continued her involvement with the church, the piano, and her sports
She was even able to maintain a social life throughout. Upon graduating from the University of Denver she went on to receive her Masters in government at the University of Notre Dame within a year. Wasting no time she returned to Denver and began working on her PhD. Korbel encouraged her to pursue a career as a professor but she was initially skeptical and was not sure what exactly she wanted to do. Rice also picked up all the former aspects of her life in Denver upon her return.
At this point in her life Condi continued to feel passionate about NFL football. Her father instilled this love in his daughter and this was clear in the Rice family football games and the associations she commonly made between football and war, which she studied so precariously. Her studies of Soviet culture, politics, and economics could not have come at a more interesting time as the Cold War was winding to a close. Interestingly enough in 1976 Condi registered to vote as a Democrat and helped elect Jimmy Carter as president that same year. It was his handling of the USSR invasion of Afghanistan that changed her mind about his abilities and the Democratic party.
She claimed in 2000 that she was so passionate in her criticism of Carters handling of the Cold War that it overpowered her regard for the Democratic support of the Civil Rights movement. After her 1980 registration as a Republican and vote for Ronald Regan, she never looked back. Condi's post graduate studies eventually led her to her first trip to Russia when she later described as necessary for her as breathing. She received an up close and personal view of Moscow and St. Petersburg which she so dearly loved.
She even described some Russians as coming up and touching her to confirm the reality of the first black person they had ever witnessed. Condoleezza Rice ended her stint in Denver upon the completion of her PhD and relocated to California where she pursued post-doctorate studies at Stanford University and eventually became part of the staff in the political science department. The university was seeking minority candidates as part of an affirmative action initiative but that only gained her access to the department and did not guarantee her stay. Condi's lasting opinion on affirmative reaction was based on such a tactic as she still maintains that affirmative action is necessary for the introduction of minorities into certain institutions, by trial only, since only merit can lead to a permanent position. Her football analogies were ever present in teaching courses on the military. She eventually climbed the ranks as Stanford as well, moving on to become an academic advisor and eventually full professor.
With the Reagan administration came further opportunity for Condi in the form of a fellowship in the public sector. In 1986 she moved to Washington D. C. to assume the role of special assistant to the director-Joint Chief of Staff position at the Pentagon. There she studied nuclear planning and reveled in the military culture.
After a two year stint in this position she returned to Stanford and over the next few years published two major books on The Soviet Union and one on the reunification of Germany. She also gained entry to a number of prestigious boards in the San Francisco area, including that of the local public broadcasting network and the San Francisco symphony orchestra. Condi, however, was not able to attend even the first meeting because in January of 1989 she accepted the position of Director of Soviet and East European affairs at the National Security Council. Her return to Washington was soon followed by a promotion to special assistant to President George H. W. Bush for national security affairs.
This position brought about the most important contacts for Condi to date. Bush Sr. even introduced her to Gorbachev as "the one who tells him everything he needs to know about the USSR." One of the first and rare occasions on which Condi faced problems as a minority came when she was leading a Russian delegation in San Francisco and a secret-service agent denied her entrance to a classified area. The incident was highly reported in the media and was a grave embarrassment for the Secret Service. When she left Washington two years later Condi felt privileged to have served during such an exciting period in history and surely did not anticipate returning to the White House anytime soon. Back at Stanford Condi resumed her duties as normal and typical to her character went beyond the call of duty. With the political connections and powerful associations she had made working in Washington she was soon invited to join the boards of several international corporations including Chevron, Trans-America, and Hewlett-Packard.
She also continued the Rice family tradition of giving back to the community through education when she helped co found an organization designed to offer greater opportunity to underprivileged children in the San Francisco area. By September 1993 she was named the youngest Provost of Stanford University. There was much controversy surrounding this appointment as many felt Condi lacked the experience as well as the Democratic politics of many previous Provosts. Naturally she disproved most speculation when she successfully balanced the school's massive $1.5 billion budget and brought them out of the red. Dr. Rice took a one year leave of absence in 1999 to join the Hoover Institute, a policy research organization seeking to improve the world as a whole.
This position was also short lived as George H. W. Bush soon came calling for her expertise again. This time, however it was not for him but for his soon George W. Bush who was seeking the office of President and wanted the assistance of his family's good friend Condi. Joining the Bushes on the campaign trail, Condi headed up an initiative called "W is for Women", in which she and Laura and Barbara Bush toured the nation soliciting votes from the female population.
Condi's strand of appearances culminated in her speech at the 2000 Republican National Convention. After winning office Bush rewarded Condi's loyalty by appointing her the first female National Security Advisor. This was not just a form of payment but an extension of the profound friendship the two had developed through the campaign. He often described her as the only person who could translate the complicated terms of foreign policy to his liking and they even shared an affinity for sports and exercise together. In many ways this new position put Condi in closest proximity to the new President as her office was just around the corner from the oval office.
Dr. Rice initially avoided the spotlight and served simply as a behind the scenes advisor as her predecessor Brent Scowcroft had encouraged her to do. All this changed on the morning of September 11, 2001 when the largest attack ever on American soil took place. Condi's role as mediator between the members of the National Security Council, which included Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Colin Powell, became more demanding than ever. While the former two were relentlessly militaristic in their approach to the crisis, Powell was cautious and thoughtful.
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Condoleeza Rice
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