No matter what your political leanings, Madeleine Albright was a delightful and engaging speaker at Unique Lives and Experiences. She spoke of her childhood, which included dispacement twice as a refugee from her Czech homeland (once at the hand of the Nazis and the second due to Communist rule) as someone with a deeply forgiving heart. She spoke of triumphs and sorrows of her life with a marvelous and well developed sense of humor.
I really did not know what to expect when I took my seat that evening. Would this be an evening of foreign policy, politics or the unique and multi faceted life of Madeleine Albright ? More than most of the lecturers in the Unique Lives series, I left that evening feeling that I truly knew her. She spoke of policy where it was important to her life story, but mostly gave her audience a fairly intimate view into the ironic orchestration of life events that uniquely qualified her to be the first woman secretary of state. She counseled mothers of daughters to encourage their daughters to be well educated in sciences, international policy and world religions.
I have had the opportunity to hear Margaret Thatcher, Cherie Blair, Hillary Clinton, Madeline Albright and Dr. Antonia Novello, the first woman and first Hispanic surgeon general (she served in the senior Bush Administration). Next year, I expect to her Condoleeza Rice and I hope to someday see Chief Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. If you have the opportunity to see any of these women who have done so much to blaze trails for women, I highly urge you to do so.
Click here to learn more about Madeleine Albright’s biography.
