See Also:
Beginning of a FAMOUS Hero: The Condoleezza Rice Story.
Life Lesson #53 – Discipline Yourself.
On April 5, 1937, Mr. and Mrs. Powell had a little boy named Colin and they lived in a part of New York called Harlem. As a child, he loved a lot of things, but he especially loved playing stick ball with the other neighborhood kids. In school, Colin remembers one very special teacher, Mrs. Ryan, because she was a hard teacher who insisted that her students learn to read, write, and speak English very, very well.
He started college in 1954, and soon he joined the R.O.T.C., a class in college where young men and women can learn all about being Army officers. In 1958, he became a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. Eventually, he became a Four-Star General, and over the years that followed, Colin Powell served in many different responsibilities in the United States Government, and he worked with several Presidents. Colin Powell later became National Security Advisor and then Secretary of State for the United States of America.
Today, he is very concerned about America’s young people, and he works hard to teach honesty, responsibility, respect, self-discipline, and all of the things that make young people successful and that make America great. In 2007, a brand new, very large school was opened in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is called The Colin Powell Youth Leadership Institute where young people are taught the things that General Powell believes in so strongly. Yes, that little boy from Harlem who loved playing stick ball with his friends grew up to be General Colin Powell, a very special HERO.
– Jim Lord