The United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton completed her four-year term on Feb. 1.
WTAMU Junior History major Olivia Trabysh has admired Secretary Clinton for her compassion and leadership.
“Her advocacy for public service is right on point with the type of transitional leadership America needs to reverse its current down turn in many sectors internationally,” Trabysh said. “The government’s responsibility is to take care of its people, not just regulate commerce.”
According to the U.S. Department of State, Clinton was the first First Lady to be elected to the United States Senate, and the first woman elected statewide in New York in 2000. She was re-elected to the Senate in 2006, and in the following year, she began her campaign for the presidency.
In 2008, after losing the fight for the Democratic nomination she campaigned for the election of President Obama and Vice President Biden and was nominated by President-elect Obama to be Secretary of State.
According to the U.S. Department of State, the sixty-eighth Secretary of State, John Forbes Kerry, was sworn in on Feb. 1 after 28 years in the United States Senate and four years as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
WTAMU Junior Finance major Leif Knippers is hopeful of Secretary Kerry’s contribution.
“Secretary of State Kerry has first-hand experience with foreign affairs through his father having lived in Norway and working at the embassy there,” Knippers said. “Kerry will offer experience to the Obama administration.”
In earlier years, Kerry served in the United States Navy and returned from Vietnam with a Silver Star, a Bronze Star with Combat V, and three Purple Hearts.
Two years before joining the Senate, Kerry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1982, and in 2004, he was the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.
“He has served in the military for our country and from that exposure he will be able to provide opinions and guidance for the ongoing conflicts we continue to face abroad,” Knippers said.
