Elizabeth Bailey
On Friday morning, North Decatur High School students gathered around the conference table across from the office to make a phone call to former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.
This was not the first phone interview the students have conducted with famous Americans. However, it was the first time someone of such recent and sweeping status had found the time to sit down and chat.
The students at North, under the instruction of social studies teacher John Pratt, have been conducting such interviews as well as receiving completed questionnaires from notable characters for about 1.5 years, Pratt explained, in a program called Personally Connecting with History. The program, Pratt continued, brings the students face-to-face with primary sources in the form of questionnaires as well as phone interviews.
On Tuesday of last week, students interviewed former Senator Bob Dole. A few days later, they had 15 minutes with Rice.
The students noted the two interviews could not have been more different. While Dole took a few minutes to warm up to the idea, Rice immediately and warmly greeted the students. As each introduced themselves to ask a question, she would greet them, using their first names.
When asked what the best part of being Secretary of State had been, Rice said it was an honor to represent such a wonderful country abroad. Visiting other nations, she said, helps her recognize how compassionate, generous and free Americans are.
“We have made mistakes, to be sure, but we stand for the right things,” she said.
Since departing that role, Rice has taken up a post at Stanford University in California where she is teaching business courses and will teach a course in international decision making to undergraduates in the spring. The transition, she said, has been good.
“It’s nice to read the newspaper in the morning and not feel like I have to do something about what’s in it,” she said.
The students asked Rice to describe the advantages and disadvantages of being female in positions of power. She said that the disadvantages are getting fewer and offered a word of advice to the group.
“Don’t let anyone define you by your gender,” she said. “Define your own horizons to overcome the disadvantages.”
She also encouraged the students to keep their minds open as they approach college. Rice told them not to head to college seeking a specific career but rather to take a variety of courses, even those that are hard, in a quest to find their passion.
“Try to find that one thing that makes you want to get up in the morning, and do that,” she said at the close of the interview.
After the fact, Pratt sent a note of thanks via e-mail to Rice for taking the time out of her schedule to make such an impact on local students.
“Your students were very impressive, well-prepared and well-spoken,” she responded. “I enjoyed the opportunity to speak with them.”
For the students, conducting these phone interviews reminds them that even those who have reached power and success are just “normal people.” One noted that it’s good to be made aware that they weren’t magically destined to become something great but had to find their way just like everyone else. Another noted that while many kids dream of becoming famous or powerful, it is easy to become resigned to staying close to home and doing what previous generations have done.
“This reminds us that it really is possible,” the student said.
