Hilary Rodham Clinton traveled a long distance from an aspiring student leader to the intended nomination as US Secretary of State that she always aimed for.
Hillary Diane Rodham was born in 1947 in Chicago, Illinois and at a very early age exhibited leadership qualities. Teacher’s favorite, she won many awards as a Brownie and Girl Scout, all the while taking part in sports like swimming and baseball. During her school and high school days she participated in the student council, the school newspaper and was selected for the National Honor Society. She was a National Merit Finalist before she graduated in 1965.
Her leadership qualities came to the fore when while helping in canvassing South Side Chicago she uncovered evidence of electoral fraud against the Republican candidate Richard Nixon during the 1960 US presidential election.
Much of Hillary’s career was mentored by her parents who despite being traditionalists did not what gender to come in way in pursuit of a professional career. Her political career was shaped mostly by a fervent anti-communist history teacher who introduced her to Goldwater, for whom she eventually campaigned in the US presidential election of 1964. Her interest in issues of social justice was mostly shaped by her mother and her Methodist youth minister who took her to meet civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in 1962.
Rodham entered Yale Law School after having graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with departmental honors in political from Wellesley College. In Wellesley too she remained politically active, organizing a student’s strike following assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and working with black students to get more black students and teachers enrolled in the college.
As a law student, Hillary Rodham took up issues of child abuse and volunteered to provide free legal aid to the poor and her dissertation “Children Under the Law” is still cited in this field. It was during her days at Yale Law College that she also met her future husband Bill Clinton, who was to later become the President of the United States. Her life as a professional lawyer and later as the First Lady of Arkansas was also marked by numerous accomplishments in the field of social justice and politics.
She was vociferous when she felt there was need to stand up against injustice and raise issues closest to her heart. Her commitment to the goal in her life was so great that she never let it get out of sight. She refused to say yes to Clinton’s proposal for marriage for long and accepted it only when she felt the time was right. Even as the First Lady of the United States she played a central role in public policy and raised many issues concerning health. She never let her husband’s controversial tenure in as President to deter her from her chosen path.
As a senator for two terms she again played a pivotal role in health issues faced by 9/11 first responders and securing funds for rebuilding of concerning funds for rebuilding the World Trade Centre sites.
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