character, and in the right place at the right time, a man who knew it was right broke the fever of a virulent political frenzy that had captured washington. one private lawyer's sincere, direct outrage at a cruel attack on his young associate. a few words from a boston lawyer who had just had enough turned the tide of history. madam president, may we never forget in this world of vast and often corrupt political forces, the power of one person to make

a difference. i yield the floor. the note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: madam chair? the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. cowan: thank you, madam chair. i was the first in my family. the presiding officer: senator, we're in a quorum call. mr. cowan: i would ask that the quorum call be voided. -- mr. markey: i would ask that the quorum call be voided. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. markey: madam president, i was the first in my family to go to college. i drive an ice cream truck to work my way through boston college as a commuter. i did the same thing to go to law school. i lived at home all the way

through college and law school in order to be able to afford to go to college. and as a result, i had to take out federal loans, like so many millions of american students have to do today. but here's the thing. if the owner of the ice cream truck company that i worked for wanted to refinance the loan that he had for the trucking fleet, he could do that. if my parents wanted to refinance the mortgage on their house, they could do that. but if i wanted to refinance my student loans, like every single student today, i was out of luck. and that's not right, that's not fair, and that needs to change. in massachusetts, as the presiding officer knows better than anyone, we recognize that education is a ladder of opportunity that allows every child to maximize their

god-given abilities. it is the best path to middle-class success and economic opportunity. the big dreams of college should never be thwarted by the small print of student loan agreemen agreements, and the economic opportunities that students have because their graduate should not be accompanied by the hopelessness from overwhelming debt. almost like the -- the mythical sicifrus with the boulder on his shoulders trying to go up the mountain, that's the way opportunities feel about their student debt as they graduate from colleges and universities across this country. so in the same way mortgage refinancing helps mortgage holders who are underwater, students drowning in debt should benefit from refinancing their student loans at a lower ray. today, more than 70% of america's students borrow money

to attend college. the average student graduates from college owing nearly $30,000. americans today owe almost $1.2 trillion in student loans, more than is owed on credit cards. almost 1 million people in massachusetts currently owe more than $24 billion in student de debt. 30% of young borrowers nationwide are unable to keep up with their payments and are in default, forbearance or deferment. that kind of debt makes it difficult to start a family, buy a home, start a business or save for retirement. and reports show that high student loan debt deters our promising minds from enrolling in graduate programs. that means fewer highly skilled workers, which harms our economy now and will make us less competitive in the world economy in the future. madam president, there is a way to make it easier for those of us who have student loan debts and to put more money in their pockets every single month and that is to listen to the wisdom

of our presiding officer, to make sure that people here in this chamber and across our country listen to this guiding light that you are creating for our country to be able to move from this present world, where debt so saddles young people that they really can't ever plan to realize all of their dreams, to a new vision of what might be possible in lowering this burden on young people across our country. last year the congress passed legislation that lowered federal student loan interest rates for new borrowers but did nothing for existing borrowers, so today interest rates for new borrowers are just under 4% while rates for older borrowers are around 7% for recent undergraduates and even higher for some older borrowers. the bill, which you have introduced as the senior senator

from massachusetts simply allows 25 million eligible student loan borrowers with the option of refinancing down to the rates offered to new federal student loan borrowers this year. the bill allows eligible student loan borrowers to refinance their private loans into the federal program. many parents cosigned the private loans for their children and are on the hook if their children default on these loans. your legislation will save existing student loan borrowers thousands of dollars to help them get ahead, not fall behind. this money can be used to help pay for the down payment on a new home, to start a new business or to start a family. this is one more way to give americans a fair shot at the american dream. so we thank you for your leadership on this issue. we thank you for laying out a pathway here to make it a slightly easier place for young

people to -- to be as they leave college, as they have this debt on their shoulders. when i was in school, the interest rate was 3%. those loans were called national defense student loans. emblaze oneloans. emblazoned over the boston public library, it says the education is the best defense against the nation. that's what it says across the boston public library. that's what we once again have to understand, that that first generation that was the beneficiary had 3% loans. this generation, in a much more wealthy country, has loans at 6%, 7%, 8%, 9% and more. and that just makes it very difficult for them to maximize their god-given abilities in the same way that the members of the united states senate were able to maximize theirs. and we have a responsibility to this generation to go back to that original message, to go

back to that incredible plan that was put together after world war ii, that finally democratised access to education for every child, for every family who wanted to work towards improving themselves. those national defense student loans understood that the best defense of a nation is the education of its people. that's how we preserve order and liberty within our society. and that is what your proposal does. and by using the buffett rule, by using an offset which just says to billionaires and millionaires in our country, you're just going to pay the same taxes as the middle class, well, then we finance something that's really critical. we finance the dreams, the hopes of young people in our country, that the debt that they have to shoulder after their leave college is not so burdensome that they never can fully realize their dreams. so i ask all of my colleagues to support senator warren's

legislation. i think it's going to be, without question, at the top of the list of the most important things that we do in this chamber this year. and i call upon my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to respond to this in the kind of bipartisan way that the american people would want those 40 million families that need relief from this oppressive burden of student loan debt. and with that, i thank the presiding officer for her leadership and i yield back the balance of my time. and i doubt the presence of a quorum call. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. blumenthal: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: thank you, madam president. i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: tomorrow the senate has a historic and magnificent opportunity to increase everybody's fair shot at the american dream, everyone's fair shot at a college education that enables and opens the american dream to people who come from families where college was an unachievable aspiration.

and i know about those families because i come from one of them. i am the first man in my family to have a college education, not to mention the opportunity to go to law school. and there are a couple of hard, practical facts, apart from all the rhetoric about the american dream. the fact is that today college education is a major -- maybe the most important determinant of income. it is one of the major determinants of employment. the employment rate for college graduates is much higher than for those who lack it. in fact, the unimhoiment rates for -- the unimhoiment rates for college graduates are half or less than those who lack that education. and college education -- in fact, education in general -- is

the single-most important instrument of social mobility in this country. it is a way for people to reach the middle class, for families to stay in the middle class. and right now the middle class is squeezed in every direction by so many different economic factors and pressures, and the cost of a college education is one of the most pressing of them. so we have the opportunity tomorrow to enable countless people to take advantage of the american dream in a very hardheaded, practical way by enabling all college graduates or others who have student loans to reduce the charges, the interest rates on those loans, to a lower rate; that is, the lowest rate acceptable. and i want to thank the presiding officer for her leadership in championing this cause before it reached the senate floor, way before it became the fashionable and

popular issue that it has become today. and i want to thank also the president of the united states who, by executive action, has helped to ease the burden of those college loans to thousands of current student debt holders. he has recognized the importance of reducing that burden by expanding a program that was passed by congress in 2010, tying monthly student debt payments to a portion of the debt holder's discretionary income. he has expanded that program to include many of those debt holders before the dhait it is currently -- the date that it is currently operative. and i thank him for that step. but it is a minor step compared to what we have the opportunity to do tomorrow in realizing and opening the american dream to many students who have already

been through education and now carry interest rates on their debt of 8%, 10%, 11%. and it is an opportunity not only for them to reduce that interest rate but also for the economy to take advantage of their purchasing power that will be unleashed, consumer demand that will enlarged because people are more likely to buy homes, start families, begin businesses, become entrepreneurs, the innovators and inventors who right now are making career choices because they are saddled with debt that forces them to pay interest rates much higher than current students do. it is not a forgiveness program. they will continue to pay the principal on that debt. it is not a free ride or a handout. they simply get the benefit of

the interest rates that our friends across the aisle thought was absolutely right when applied to the existing program just months ago. so this opportunity is really a commonsense, simple measure to provide some relief to people struggling under a debt load that is suffocating to them, their futures, their families, and our economy's future. i believe sincerely that there are equally important measures that eventually we need to take in this body, in this congress, in this nation to make college for affordable. the costs of tuition and college expenses need to be brought down. the grants that we provide --

so-called pell grants -- and scholarships that come from other sources need to be expanded and increased. the opportunities for people who incur debt to work down or work off that debt through public service can be dramatically and drastically enhanced for their benefit and for the benefit of our communities and country that will stand to be enriched by their policing, their teaching, their fire fighting, their public service that can be, in effect, rewarded and incentivized by enabling them to work down, work off those debts. these programs are a moral imperative, as is affording the student for students to discharge in bankruptcy those

debts when they simply cannot fulfill them. but this idea of giving everybody the benefit of the lowest possible interest rates that will be part of the bill that we vote tomorrow is a solid and sound and vitally important beginning. we enable homeowners to refinance and car buyers to refinance and many other kinds of debt holders to refinance, but not student loans. and that is a discrimination -- maybe not unlawful, but still a distinction that makes no sense, either from the standpoint of our economy or the interest of the debtors. and so i hope that we will give them a fair shot but also impose

a basic and fundamental tenet, an ephos of fairness. if it is good enough for home loans and car loans, why not for student loans? we shouldn't be adopting policies that encourage people to give up on their dreams. in fact, we ought to be doing just the opposite; making young people feel that their dreams are within reach. and i would close by saying to my colleagues that, in the last months, i have been listening around the state of connecticut at round tables and meetings to both high school students and college students about this issue of college affordability. and what is so inspiring to me in the meetings that i've had in maces like an soni ansonia and m and bridgeport is the drive of our students to embark on college education. they know its value.

they're realistic about its quoft. -- its cost. they want do it because they know it is a way of their gaining and their giving back. but many of them have to make compromises. they've been admitted to schools, their first choices, first-rate school, but they cannot put together the package financially that will enable them to go. it is beyond reach financially, even as it is within their grasp intellectually. so they make compromises. maybe the first of other compromises that they will pack- that they will make throughout their lives, as they have to make hard choices. but at that age those compromises should not be driven simply by financial imperatives. they should have the best education that is possible for

them, and this country should make it available, not just for their sake but for all of ours. and i've been listening to college students who were leaving at the commencement addresses that i've given at the law schools as well as colleges, listening to students talk about their futures as well, futures that will be compromised because of the debt they have, an average of $27,000 to $30,000 in the state of connecticut alone, similar to many states around the country. and the reason that we have $1.2 trillion in debt overall today. they will compromise in doing a job that may be more lucrative but less rewarding, less so to them and less so to our economy, less so to our society, a lesser way of earning a living in terms

of its impact in contributing to our social fabric, quality of life. they may not be teaching, they may not be policing, they may not be doing things that give back to our society because they need the income, the higher income, to pay back that debt. and so those compromises affect all of us as well. and they are done because they simply can't afford either to go to the school of their first choice or the career of their first choice. but the government can afford to give them a lower interest rate. we know that the government can do so because right now it is profiting off the backs of students, billions and billions of dollars. the estimates range over a five-year period from $6 of -- m

$66 billion to other amounts. we know the government will continue to profit, even at lower interest rates from the student loan program. so let's have less profit to the government, better well-being in our communities, and fairer treatment for our students, a fair shot for them and their families and for all who have as they are objective simply to better their lives and gain a fair shot at the american dream. i thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. casey: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. casey: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. casey: madam president, thank you very much. i rise tonight to speak about a challenge that is confronting our middle-class families all across my home state of pennsylvania and across the country. the presiding officer knows this issue well and has worked

tirelessly to enact measures of public policy to confront this problem, and we have an opportunity now with her leadership as well as other leaders here in the senate to work together on what i think is the kind of legislation that will help those middle-class families -- middle-income families. the bank's student emergency loan refinancing act which i am a proud cosponsor of is an opportunity i think for the senate, folks in both parties who hear from middle-class families all the time about a range of issues. i doubt there is any issue that we hear about more often than the cost of higher education. so i want to, as i'm sure many other members of this body want to, ensure that every student in our states and for me every student in pennsylvania gets

something very fundamental, a fair shot to attend college and reach their full potential. the bill that we're considering would help students who have private and public loans in good standing from before july 1 of 2013, it allows them a chance to refinance those loans at a 3.68 percentage interest rate, the level that was agreed to in last summer's bipartisan loan compromise, student loan compromise. this compromise as we might remember passed the senate overwhelmingly 81-18. with interest rates near record lows, homeowners, businesses and even local governments with good credit regularly can refinance their debts, but few, if any, students have that same option. why shouldn't more americans be

helped by the opportunity to pay a lower interest rate? that's a question we all request tonight and on the days that we're debating this issue. more than 40 million americans, almost $1.2 trillion in student loan debt, much more than is owed, for example, on credit cards. according to the institute for college access and success, as of the year 2012, pennsylvania ranked third in the nation on the highest average student debt indicator. nearly $32,000 per student is the number in pennsylvania. and 70% of graduates in the commonwealth of pennsylvania leave debt -- i'm sorry -- leave college with debt, the fourth highest of any state in the union.

too many young americans can't get ahead because they can't get out from under the burden of student debt. because of their debt, many americans are unable to buy a home, save for retirement, start a business or even start a family. this hurts the economy terribly, and it makes the american dream so much harder for young americans to reach. at an 18-year low, the rate of homeownership among young people has been cut in half since 2001. a record-breaking number of young adults are still living in their parents' homes. high levels of student debt make it harder for entrepreneurs to start new businesses and create jobs. entrepreneurial activity among 20-34-year-olds is at the lowest level in 20 years. we know that this bill could help at least 1.2 million

pensians -- pennsylvanians and more than 25 million across the nation, according to the department of education. based on calculations from the congressional research service, a typical pennsylvanian who owed the state average, nearly $32,000 in student debt, would be able to save more than $4,000 over the life of their loan. this bill would not only save millions of americans -- save millions of americans, but the bill itself would save the federal government more than $14 billion over ten years based on figures from the congressional budget office. a college education, we all know, is the surest path to middle-class success and is still the best investment a student can make. getting college degree opens the door to job opportunities. for the average worker, that means $1 million more in earnings over a lifetime compared to those who only go as

high as a high school diploma. so a college education is indeed tied directly to the economic success of young people across the country. this bill is a step in the right direction and would do much to tackle the problem of student loan debt. however, congress and the nation still have a lot of work to do to make college affordable for all of our children. so, mr. president, what we're talking about here is something very fundamental. all we're asking is that the house and the senate, both parties, come together to give students and their families just a fair shot. that's all they're asking for. they are basically saying to us, especially middle-class families are saying to us you folks in washington talk all the time about the middle class, but you need to act on our behalf, and unfortunately they don't see enough action coming out of washington that directly impacts

their lives, that directly has an impact on their economic fortunes, their economic future. this is one of those rare opportunities. with one vote, one bill we can have a substantially positive impact on the lives of literally millions of americans as soon as the bill is enacted into law. i would -- i would venture to say that when you talk to any middle-class family, if student loans and the cost of college isn't the number one issue they mention, it's certainly in the top two or three, and for most middle-class families, it's number one, and yet, they haven't seen much in the way of direct action that we can take here in washington to -- to provide a measure of relief. not a magic wand. not eliminating all the pressure and all of the burdens that people have when it comes to affording college, but this is one bill that can provide some

relief, some needed relief, especially when young people are trying to -- to buy a home, invest in their families, start a business and begin their life after higher education. so, mr. president, i would ask that we all come together on this legislation to provide a measure of relief to middle-class families and, by virtue of doing that, to provide an injection, a badly needed injection, into our economy. and with that, mr. president, i would yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. casey: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. casey: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be vitiat vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. casey: first i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. casey: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of h. con. res. 100, which was received from the house and is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h. con. res. 100,

concurrent resolution authorizing the use of the rotunda of the capitol for a ceremony to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the enactment of the civil rights act of 1964. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. casey: i ask unanimous consent the concurrent resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. casey: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completessity businescompletes t adjourn until 9:15 a.m. on wednesday, june 11, 2014. that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. that following any leader remarks, we resume consideration

of the motion to proceed to s. 2432, the college affordability bill and the time until 10:00 a.m. be divided as follows: senator alexander controlling up to 15 minutes and the remaining time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees prior to the cloture vote on the motion to proceed to the bill. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. casey: there will be a roll call vote at 10:00 a.m. tomorr tomorrow. if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it adjourn under the previous order. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the

>> religion is a powerful identity forming mechanism. part of human society is figuring out who is us and who is them. who is my group and who is the outgroup? religion answers that question pretty easily. if you pray like me, if you'd eat like me, if you go to the same church as i do then you are asked and if you don't then you are them. you can see very easily how that type of us them in group a outgroup mind-set can very easily leads to extremism to marginalization. after after all as i remind

people religion may be the most powerful form of identity formation but just as powerful as violence. how do you know who is us and who is them? if you are fighting alongside me you are us. if you are fighting against me you are them so far from religion and violence being these two things that are at odds and should have nothing to do with one another they are much more a line than we would like them to be.

>> a look now at the difficulties women face as they tried to reach the upper ranks of the military with remarks from the first woman to lead the coast guard academy rear admiral sandra is the oaks ricci spoke earlier this year at winthrop university's business college and rock hill's south carolina. it's an hour. >> our speaker is rare admiral sandra stokes. she is superintendent of the united states coast guard academy and is the first female leader of any of our nation's five federal service academies. rear admiral stokes served 12 years at sea and commanded to coast guard cutters that executed many of the coast guard's duties at sea such as search-and-rescue domestic icebreaking and law enforcement. she previously served as her

reserve in leadership and commanding officer of the services recruit training center in cape may new jersey. she earned a bachelors of science degree in government from the coast guard academy and is the first female graduate of the coast guard academy to make admiral. she also earned an mba from northwestern university's jl kellogg graduate school of management and a second masters degree in national security strategy from the national war college. rear admiral stosz was also notably a junior olympic swimmer and was technically a member of the men's swim team at the academy before they had a women's team. we are eager to learn about her experiences so please join me in welcoming to winthrop university rare admiral sandra stosz. [applause] >> good morning.

thank you dr. boyd for that kind introduction and good morning everybody. all right, good. that's how we start things in the military with a resounding good morning to make sure we get everyone's attention. coming from the coast guard academy and used to talking to groups of cadets or students so i know how important it is to make that strong connection to start with. i have been here on campus for a day now. i came down a little bit early because in england we have a big snowstorm a couple of days ago. i had the privilege of being here being hosted by dr. benson who is showing me around your amazing campus. i got to meet dr. comstock your president and i'm thrilled to have had a chance to engage with faculty staff and now some of the students. i've had a chance to see your facilities and its beautiful campus. i'm very honored to address this distinguished group today. it's really a privilege to be here. it's a wonderful forum. it's beautiful and small and

intimate. that's my favorite kind of talk so i hope it's going to be a little bit of engagement today. i will probably be asking questions throughout the talk and at the end i know you get a chance asked me questions. i was reading your newspaper the john sony in. dr. bess gave me a copy of it and i notice the dean's list and presidents list so i congratulate all the students was that made the dean's list and presidents list and the varsity athletes in the group too. there's a lot to be proud of at winthrop university. i want to also ask a question about veterans in the groove. i know i have met the exhilarating 226 representatives here. how about this group here? what is this group? we have the program is two years old. i'm really proud of winthrop university for starting our rotc program. i think that's a great way to develop a civil military relationship that are so valuable to us. as we know that's one of the key

components of the talk i'm giving today is the specific so i think it's great that rotc is onboard for the first time here. are there in the other veterans in the audience? can i see a show of hands? that's great to see. anybody from the marines here? shouted out there. how about army? how about air force? i have one air force and coast guard and who am i forgetting? i'm just kidding. i know the navy. they are the other sea service. who it was from the navy here? good. we can't forget the navy no doubt. it's important to celebrate our veterans to celebrate their real diversity of common diversity of experiences and perspectives here at winthrop so i'm thrilled to be in front of such a diverse audience today. today i'm going to talk about breaking through the ranks to

lead at all levels. that will be the theme of my talk and some of you in the audience say i'm a student i can be a leader. that's exactly the wrong way to think. talking to you students who are leaders whether you know it or not you can leave as a student by being a role model or role models of the page here. you can intervene. you cannot be a bystander. you can take the bold courage stance of making sure you are leaving your peers to do the right thing. leadership starts with students and there is leadership at all levels and that's what i'm going to discuss today. i'm excited to speak at the west form. governor west is a perfect example of a man who knew how to lead at all levels. he understood the critical importance of civic engagement and by definition civic engagement is active engagement. that is why talked about intervening and not being a bystander in your daily student lives. he you can do that.

it's an active engagement to be civically engaged. you need to recognize the importance of globalization and localization so those two themes are themes that governor west wanted to make sure he left us a legacy with the west form and i will touch on those today. as i look into the differences and similarities between winthrop university and the coast guard academy i was struck by how similar they are. you might not think a small military academy and a medium-sized, small to medium-sized state college had amazing similarities. we had shared values and their mission was to develop character and that equates to civic engagement. that is what your school is all about. our motto in the coast guard academy is locally relevant nationally prominent. so i think it's interesting that our two schools are so connected and it makes me feel like i really am able to connect with you as an audience as i

discussed was talk on leadership at all levels. both of our schools are preparing the next generation of leaders to lead this nation in uncertain times and that is a burden and opportunity on the students in this audience. right now you are going to be learning from your professors. we are training you so you can take our place someday. it's your time singing to learn in class and realize that you will be those leaders of tomorrow. you students in my cadets. in an ever-changing world in a world in which there's a lot of uncertainty in that can lead to stress and pessimism about the future. it's our job as leaders and all of us including you young leaders to take this challenge on as an opportunity. we owe to all those around us from winthrop university to the coast guard academy to take that responsibility on. we as leaders must set an optimistic term limit and pave the way for people to achieve their full potential. people are never going to

achieve their full potential without positive engaged leadership. we need to reach out our hand to the people we are leading to meet them where they are. so the key tenant of civility, civic engagements and leaving at all levels is reaching out a hand understanding where the other person is and reaching out of hand. another way to look at it is the golden rule. do unto others as you would have them do unto you. that means reaching out your hand to understand where somebody is. that especially applies to weave more senior people reaching out her hand to meet students and cadets where they are and bring them up as opposed to dictating a message down. i think you students would agree with that. you want to be engage where you are so you can internalize that learning. today you're going to hear me talk on a positive outlook. a positive outlook grounded in pride and passion of the two were simply to talk talk about in a minute.

pride and passion for the coast guard and for winthrop university for the armed forces and our great nation. i believe pride and passion of the key to being successful and rising to the top in any organization, not just the military one. if you have these positive qualities on passionate pride you look at the last is half-full and filling up in what you drop you can add to help fill that class glass we could make a difference. i would bet most of the students in this room wanted make a difference. be thinking as i talk and carry away today what can you make is a difference to fill that glass? you don't want to leave after four years with the glass half full. you want to make sure you left the glass fuller than when you found it when he entered it as freshmen. the coast guard academy talking about pride and passion you can see at the front gate. you come through its impressive and cadets are standing proud. when i came in the gates yesterday, it's not really but

when i came into winthrop yesterday and took a tour of the farm and your architecture here and your beautiful old buildings and lovely new buildings like the one we are and there's a lot of pride and passion right here reflected right here in this university and the student body and for faculty and staff. we are committed to a bright future. it's a great place to be talking about pride and passion and leaving at all levels. we also have a lot of pride today i was reminded at breakfast today of where we have come your winthrop and moving forward women and minorities. we learned this morning in 1964 we admitted our first minority students in the 1974 you admitted them into an all-women's college. i'm proud to be here's a female. look how far winthrop has come in its 40 and 50 years and integrating men and minorities becoming this great diverse

student body and faculty that you are today. that's just a lot of pride and passion right there. our pride and passion is reflected in both of these universities in our mission statements developing and educating this next-generation of civic leaders. these are really noble missions proud to be part of the coast guard and proud to be standing here today. i'm going to go into a little bit of history because you can have pride and passion without firm foundation of history and where you came from. we talked about that this morning. there is a lot to learn from where we have been as a society and where we need to go. but they talk a little bit about organizational history from my perspective and set the foundation for what i'm going to talk about at all levels. this is where we develop the passion and pride is in the history. to be good leaders we have to reflect back on the history that has shaped us and inspires the pride and passion. the coast guard has the rich

history that appeal to me when i looked at where i wanted to go so long -- young student to make a difference. everyone has to find the personal journey. we at the coast guard have amazing missions ranging from unitarian services such as search-and-rescue. off the coast of north carolina year. the hms bounty sank and coast guard rescue helicopter searched and save some people on the crew. law enforcement such as fisheries enforcement to preserve natural resources and to deter against illegal incursions into our country. in addition we secure the nation's ports a race against threats that are delivered from the sea. we respond to man-made disasters. we were front and center in the hurricane disaster in the deepwater horizon most recently

down on the gulf coast and believe it or not we help defend our nation overseas. we have patrol boats serving in the persian gulf as we speak. those are 110-foot boat captained by young lieutenant who is probably only 26 or 27 years old commanding a patrol boat over there in the persian gulf. right here in south carolina there is what we call sector charleston south carolina and that sector encompasses all the missions across the waters. we have a strong and proud coast guard presence here in south carolina. that's a lot to be proud of and makes us here in the coast guard a part of civil society and the civil network in south carolina. i want to make that connection with you. there is that connection right here locally in charleston with the coast guard to make and enhance that civil society here in south carolina. i am diverting these missions

and is more than the missions with whatever he wants do with your life whatever service you want to go into. there's also an ethos and we take pride in our ethos of selfless service and our core values. if there is no delicate way of taking a drink when you are making a talk. i wanted to say our core values is on a respect motion and dignity. we in the core lit by core values. everyone needs to help her values and organization. it's the glue that bonds you together is an organization. we are characterized by an inspirational motto. separate practice means always ready so between our motto and core values and are ethos of civil service and a great missions we have a lot of great pride and passion in our service and it's evident in our coast

guard men and women. so in order to help me build my foundation of pride and passion to share with you i want to talk about women's history and importance. if my story is from a women's perspective. thankful to see the men in the audience. it's not just about women or men or one minority or the other. they are all a team -- we are a team in a group it with her band the coast guard academy. looking at women's history we stand on the shoulders of those who paved the way before us us. and maybe here's a a first the mill superintendent but women for generations ago paved the way before me and i want to start with a little bit of history. it's just a couple of minutes worth but a good context and interesting to think back on. we tend to forget our history pretty quickly.

three generations ago this is the world war i generation. i will start with that and it backs up a little leading to that. in 1920 the 19th amendment was signed and that was women's suffrage. it wasn't until 1920 that women got the right to vote in this country. because women blacks the vote in any political power they were denied opportunities over men until they got that suffrage. women spend well over 50 years fighting for the right to vote before it actually happened in 1920 and in fact african african-american men could vote way before white women or women of any kind could vote. it's interesting and to think back on the context of all that suspending 50 years before 1920 and aspect 20 and that's back to civil war times that women started to organize for the right to vote. back in 1872 hours telling a short story. this woman by the name of myra bradwell who i'd never heard of

going talk about heroes and the women we have heard of but you don't hear about myra bradwell. she challenged illinois law which restricted number shift of the state bar to mend and she wanted to be in the state bar to be a lawyer in 1872. the supreme court upheld the illinois law that on the ice state law and justice bradley who was delivering the opinion for the majority said in his opinion and this was 1872100 years before title ix which we will get to in a bit. he said quote it is true that many women are unmarried and not affected by any of the duties complications and incapacities arising out of the married state that these are exceptions to the general rule. the paramount destiny and mission of women is to fulfill the noble and benign offices of wife and mother. this is the law of the creator and the rules of civil society must be adapted to a general constitution of things and cannot be based upon exceptional

cases. i thought that was worth sharing with you today. it's important to reflect back on history and i can't believe i'm hearing that. this is well over 100 years ago but this is why women are positioned ladies out there in the audience we are dealing with 140 years ago was this kind of mind-set. we have come along wave but it's amazing we are there and we tend to forget we were there on point in time. let's go forward tutu generations ago and that is world war ii women. the fed is women's auxiliary reserve and i will go through all the different branches of service but when the men went on to fight there was a large cry for women to join them coming into the staff work and the other work heinemann but it matured and the women plying his test pilots on the new aircraft delivering those planes in doing all those operational jobs too.

that was back in the days of rosie the riveter in the amazing women who lead the way for people like me. one of those women was grace hopper and admiral in the navy reserve. she was truly a woman who knew how to lead at all levels. she said you don't manage people you manage things. elite people so today we are talking about leaving at all levels and many of us in academia tend to think of our lives is managing. governance and it's all management but there is leadership that can make you stand out. and make you successful and that's what i want to talk about today. grace hopper is that women. who has heard of admiral hopper? can i see a show of hands. very few which is why want historical context here. very few in the audience have heard of admiral hopper. she is truly one who met people where they are to bring them up.

she was in information technology specialist way ahead of her time. to captured in a nutshell she had a particular piece of, a particular prop she would use when talking to audience. does anyone remember what that was called? anyone's wants to embolden the guest? it was a nanosecond. does anybody remember this? she would hold up a 12-inch piece of wire and use it as a prop. this is a nanosecond second. and in the second is 1 billionth of a second. that's how far an electrical signal travels in 12 inches. she held that up as a way to meet people where they are. young people interested in computer technology and science and math and i thought that was a great role model to use as part of our historic context. people like admiral hopper in the 1940s, 50s and 60's in continued on for years for leading the way.

one generation that's my generation back when i was young when i was in the seat like you students in the audience that's why we have the 1970s equal rights. we had gloria steinem and billie jean king leading the way. any of you know those names? once again fewer people have heard of those women's rights activists and it's interesting because i lived during that time i met both of those women now and i met gloria steinem when i was with secretary clinton when she was secretary of state when i first took this job to appear as part of a women in public service project holograms. this was an idea the secretary clinton had of traveling around and meeting leaders around the world. where there were female leaders around the world there was less conflict. there was resolution instead of conflict. women negotiated talked about

things and resolve conflicts at the lower level. she wanted to talk about leadership perspectives. i prepared with this woman to spend on the panel and spend a day with. i was introduced to gloria steinem and i was paired with her for the day for those talks for that panel. it was pretty interesting. it was like meeting a legend certainly for me as that name was everywhere in the 1970s. billie jean king i ended up meeting when i was testifying in front of congress a year ago now on the 40th anniversary of title ix and i was down there in washington d.c., appeared in a senate hearing room and was the first one there and the next person who walked in the door was billie jean king who is also appearing. i did not know the other women testifying with me but it was billie jean king and an olympic swimmer and the first

african-american astronaut. some of you african-american women should know her the first female african-american astronaut so a line of the people and a privilege for me to meet them. these are people who paved the way the forming without whom i wouldn't be standing where i am. you all haven't necessarily heard of these women but i wouldn't be standing here and you wouldn't have the opportunities you have without these women so it's important to reflect back on that. does anyone in the audience know what title ix was? have you heard of title ix? i will see a show of hands for that too. i'm seeing mostly hands in the front which is usually the more senior people because students i sit in the back but i'm not seeing too many hands-on title ix. students? a couple? i'm not sure if that is good or bad. ..

a my story goes along the lines of a 1976 women were allowed to enter the united states service academy by act of law in 1975 the national defense authorization act required that the service academy be open to women. until then it was men only. so i was a junior in high school at the time living outside of baltimore, md.

the naval academy is in maryland , annapolis. the baltimore sun ran an article on the naval academy opening its doors to women. i was a tomboy at the time back in the day when -- back in the mid-1970s. i wanted to do something exciting with my life, but i was not sure what it was. some boys were still closed, but we got this newspaper article from the baltimore sun. a neighbor walked over and said, sandy might be interested in is. so i sure enough was. i looked up. four years of exciting education and a chance to serve their country. it was free and they give you a stipend. had to run back inside to look it up in the dictionary. and that figured out it was a little bit of money to pay for books and uniforms and all that i thought, what is the catch? there really was not one. you are going to be surveyed somewhere.

telling me a lot of students get jobs of the health care sector. you will be serving. whether or not you are serving your country, did not see that as a down side or catch. i was thrilled to go into that class of 1932. adjoin the 1978 post academy. when i looked at those schools the naval academy, it's women graduating, there were not allowed to serve in combat. they were excluded by title ten. under title 14 we had no such combat exclusion law. we had and still have 378-foot light frigates ships. we had missiles on some of those for a while, but those were open to women. there was no jobs that women were excluded from serving when they graduated. i chose the coast guard because i wanted to have equal access for putting in the same hard work. so i came into coast guard

academy, the third class of women. women made up just 5 percent of the cadet population, and there were not varsity. you have to start your basketball team's and start everything off. that is why i did. they let me swim on the men's team for a season. i could not, of course, compete. i was not that good. but people were holding up a hand in leading me where i was as a young female cadet he did not have afford and had been as swimmer in high-school. they let me swim. i have always gone back to meet them when they are. i want to talk -- i want you to take away from my talk. so that is where i came and in my generation. let's move to today's generation cadets and students here at winthrop and the university. right now women retain at about the same rate as men. in fact impossibly a little

higher. woman perform very well. and can anyone make a guess as to what percentage of the cadet corps women are right now? anyone want to shout out a number? forty, 48, that is a little high forty is a little high. thirty-two. one-third. just one third women which is fabulous. that is critical mass. when i came back as superintendent the biggest change that i notice that the academy was the one third woman is a game changer. that critical mass because it was only 5 percent when i was there. that makes all the difference in the world. critical mass. it is not really a definition. elected up to figured there was a definition, but it is what works for your institution. all of our women have varsity sports. we make sure that we have women's sports. we just brought across up. we have women's lacrosse and as a cross. it is a thrill to offer that parity.

but it took me an entire generation to rise up through the ranks. it is a whole generation to come that far. you have to look where you're right now. what you will put in right now. you work your way toward what you want to be in life. in my case i am not put the only woman connected of commanding and academy. michele johnson, lieutenant-general came back to our modern. now the superintendent. back before that in 2008 general done with the, the first female four-star admiral. now retired. we have had some four stars. and other female superintendent. if you look back in 1872, they

wanted to be the lawyer in illinois. that is where we are right now. we cannot forget where we came from. so we still have all lot of work to do, even in the coast guard with one-third of women at the coast guard academy in the service as a whole, doing great at attracting women, but retaining women becomes another challenge. and you young people here are going to graduate from winter but then go get jobs and are going to stay and try to make it to see management so that you can lead. and many women don't move past middle management. i want to address that because decisions you make early on help determine whether you will make it to be a leader at all levels and get past middle management in whatever occupation you are in. there can be a different up to five different definition for that. about two years ago, maybe three

now, the "wall street journal" did an executive taskforce for women in the economy done by mckinsey and company. i want to go back to that for a few minutes here because it talks about some of the barriers women need after middle management, and after middle management. and if you understand some of that now as a young person and your faculty and staff understand that, maybe we can help poor people through that to make sure that we continue opening the opportunities for everybody in society, women, minorities, man, equal access. but there still are barriers. let me talk about some. the study surveyed 2,500 men and women and interviewed 30 chief diversity officers to try to understand the factors that help women back and limit their advancement beyond middle management. and i will give you a couple of interesting statistics that came out of the report. nearly 60 percent of undergrad students in the u.s. case of undergrad degrees in the u.s.

are awarded to women, 60 percent undergrad awarded to women. but women share a corporate job, just 53% at the entry-level and has fallen to 14% at the senior ranks. so we graduates 60% women, 53 go into a grot -- jobs and only 14 in-depth in senior management. that is weigh less than. we all know, women and men in the audience, all inspired. you want access to go as high as you want to go and asking you to

accompany them. the plan and you're all going to go out to dinner or whatever. the men just kind of get together and mobilized a few polish japan. i would heed. it was not intentional.

they were not sitting around howling -- scheming have leave. they were thinking a girl would want to go -- they just were not thinking would want to go with them. i learned that the day before we got then. i started asking my classmates and shipmates. they would not really know yet. well, let me know. i would love to go out with the. if i had sat there achitophel like this was not a place for me . actively engaged to find a mentor, actively in dates to be included. people are not necessarily trying to exclude you. they just are not thinking. part of the civic society is civics, civic engagement, situational awareness and looking around to find that person who is not included at the table to reach an abandoned bull that person of your table. askin to sit with you for lunch. these are the ways that we can have civic engagement and move forward and break those barriers

down. and try to find someone to mentor yourself. someone who is more jr., a freshman it comes in and try to find someone who you notice something in. people who are on confidence to really don't know, have not figured themselves out, reach out the hand to those people and tell them, i see something special a new. like their fire, have you ever tried that? how often do we do that? whether we are professor, staff, tell it to one of our students. it is not always the brightest students. find the student whose quiet, find a classmate or freshman, not confidence and tell them one day, hey, you did good in that presentation. i see something special in you, and you will like their fire. and i cannot explain how powerful that is. the second barrier, structural barriers. the second is lifestyle issues. women like to remain in jobs for

much that derive a deep sense of meaning. they hesitate to trade that job for long hours an uncomfortable, comfortable with the job, feel like they're making a difference and stay in middle management. more requirements, more time away and all that. i think at this point in time what i want to address really quick on that lifestyle issue is women, can we have an all? have you heard about this argument? any of the ladies in the art audience? there is this argument out there. people say you can have it all. there have been books written on it. conveniences' to my child development centers, flexible work program so that people can try have a career and family. there have been good articles that encourage everyone to look out. a more of them is the atlantic

article. short for secretary clinton and the state department a while back a couple of years ago. roden interesting article in the atlantic. and then there was cheryl san birgit facebook who wrote the book lynen. anyone here about that? talk on the same subject. these are some women who have written who have made it successfully and then written on whether you can have all. and i encourage all of the young people in the audience to consider that, where you want to go when you graduate. what it all, have it all, need to have it all? i use them in your analogy. the bill into a restaurant that gives you a menu. you can have it all. no one is stopping you from ordering everything on that menu, but it is not going to sit on your plate. you can't get it all and pay for everything on that menu. why even want to try to have everything on that many jack selectively pick something. maybe if you like it come back.

where you are, no where your going to go it means to you and don't let yourself be persuaded by people who argue. that can be parents, professors, her friends who will try to tell you that they know what is best for you. anyone have that happen? we know what is best for you. you can all raise your hands on that. so you have to have the courage to be who you are, to be your own person and find your personal passion. it is probably not going to be the same as your parents, friends, professes, but you have to have the courage, moral courage to stand by with the war .

that article i mentioned a moment ago. someone made of preference. what you had wish you had done. and that top regret people have before they die was they wish they had been true to themselves throughout their lives, not trying to be something and somebody else wanted them to be. so why not seize that right now, sees that fate right now knowing that that is what happens to people if they get told where they should go by somebody else so and -- look good that many and put you want, somebody's toes got to pick off. somebody who thinks he should be

something you are not, a little story. i chose to half of vibrant career in the coast guard as a single until i was 47. i am not married. my husband is also in the coast guard. i never had time for it. i have 900 kids of the coast guard academy. i ended up to my first demand in st. marie michigan whereby canada. it was on a small icebreaker of there. it made all the media because i was the first female to command a ship on the great lakes and this and that. i went to church with my cousins. i have distant cousins this was back in 1990. not 1872, 1990. get done with church and they're walking out. come to me or come to him. six my and toilets in the eye. don't you feel bad?

i was in a state of shock. did not begin to know what to say. my cousins is also me out. probably about 50 or 60 back in 1990, but that -- different places when it came to rights and opportunities. and suzanne marie was not seeing it. i think they have come along, but that is something i had to go for my judgment i had our choice as i have made, and if you realize people are going to judge you. you have to have the courage to stand for who you are and what your choices are. the third thing the study came up with was embedded individual mindsets, embedded individual mindsets. the survey data shows that at all ages were men and women want

to take on responsibility. so that is us. we ourselves electing. and women often sell themselves short. we probably can think of examples of this. we need to develop confidence to sit at the table, take your place at the table which is the key. i don't know, but the faculty and staff, you go to a conference room. senior people, you know, senior people at the table, but big conferences, around the margins. they will come in and put their briefcase down like their is a table in the place. might be more senior were equally as tenured as a professor will come and. there will take it right off the table every time. anyone notice that? that is the premise of the book. so we want -- we don't necessarily always have the confidence of the need to feel

like we have to push ourselves. but we cannot blame the man. we need to take it on ourselves to set the table and take your seats and to realize that the hard work and perseverance that we put in we earned a place of the table. and we take those tough jobs, get us out of our comfort zone. the one that makes you cold, wet, tired, hungry like the was, you will not ever grow sitting comfortably in one place. i encourage everyone to take your seat at the table. you have earned it, gone out of your comfort zone. you have actively engaged looking for mentors and actively gates to be included. you have been your own person. the fourth barrier is embedded institutional mindsets. that might be something like what experience taught at sault ste marie which is one of the most powerful forces of entrenched beliefs. they cannot handle the next level of job responsibility in the family.

and women themselves do not believe that they are fully qualified. have you ever notice that women are evaluated based upon performance whereas men are evaluated on potential? we have to prove ourselves. and what i am talking about to my group of businesspeople, of heads nodding. we often have to prove that we have earned our place at the table. so they have institutional mindsets that we all have to work hard overcome. that is, i think, artist beryl all of those. the way that i attack that barrier is, a single female on the ship. i was assigned back in 1985, a senior boarding officer on board a law enforcement cover. one of these things like a policeman at sea. wearing the protective gear. you have been to the boarding officer school and all of that. senior boarding officer and only woman on ship.

pacific northwest boarding the shipping fleet. as another part of the country that has different mindsets about culture. so people were telling me, you will never, you know, be able to have respect going on a fishing boats. telling them what the rules are and how they're supposed to comply. without really knowing of the time i was convinced the was not going to legend define me and be my own person. so i did go on board those boats, fishing boats, all male crews. had been out to sea for a week or two or three fishing. surf toward iraq had anything of working in. the first one on board with a boarding party behind me. i would walk on board. the first thing we had to do it was as if they have new weapons. ..

>> there were a few times in my time on there they had to call me and said lieutenant stosz we need you. they won't let us on. i would be sir, i need come on your boat and i was never denied access to the a boat.

we have advantages we can use and it is okay to use those. we don't want to go into a profession and believe we cannot make it like someone else because we are different. because that is one of our strengths. i found that out and that is just one of my stories. another strength is horizontal networking. men with comfortable in vertical chains. women like governance, collaboration, concencus and coming to decision. that is a powerful power