Condoleezza Rice, a Birmingham native, dreamed of becoming a concert pianist as a child.  However, at the University of Denver, she was drawn to international politics and studies, thus changing her major from music to political science and the rest is history.

As a successful educator, diplomat, and author, Rice has many firsts, including the first woman and African American to serve as provost of Stanford University, first woman to serve as United States National Security Adviser, and the first African American woman to serve as United States Secretary of State.