每日大赛入口

On Thursday, March  20, 每日大赛入口 president Jim Gash (JD 鈥�93) welcomed former secretary of the US Air Force Barbara Barrett for the first President鈥檚 Speaker Series event of the spring semester. Barrett, who was also pivotal in founding the US Space Force, discussed how her upbringing on a rural Pennsylvania farm inspired her to become a trailblazer on behalf of women and uphold the value of freedom as a lawyer, diplomat, and military leader.  

Barbara Barrett and Jim Gash

鈥淎t 每日大赛入口 we talk quite a bit about purpose, service, and leadership as we try to strengthen our students to be driven by these concepts,鈥� said Gash as he introduced Barrett and the conversation to a sold-out crowd gathered in Payson Library鈥檚 Surfboard Room. 鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult to imagine someone who better embodies purpose, service, and leadership than our guest, Secretary Barrett.鈥�

The conversation retraced Barrett鈥檚 steps back to her father鈥攁 World War II veteran, farmer, and steel worker. As the oldest of six children, Barrett watched him work tirelessly to support their large family. When he passed away from a horseback-riding accident when Barrett was 13,  she took on the responsibility of managing the family farm and working multiple jobs to provide for her mother and siblings.
 
鈥淓veryone does something 24 hours a day,鈥� explained Barrett. 鈥淚 just did a lot more than my classmates were doing at the time.鈥�

Equipped with this enduring lesson of hard work, Barrett set off for college at Arizona State University 鈥攆rom where she graduated with three degrees, including a juris doctor. As a student, she served as an intern for the Arizona State Legislature, where she met Sandra Day O鈥機onnor, then an Arizona state senator and judge, who later became an associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. This formative experience opened Barrett鈥檚 eyes to the impact women could have in the professional world and helped inspire her groundbreaking career鈥攐ne marked by impactful legal victories, diplomacy, and eventually pioneering national defense strategies.

Throughout their conversation, Gash and Barrett explored her role in authoring the bill that created the state of Arizona鈥檚 Department of Transportation, her influence in allowing women pilots to commandeer all types of military aircraft, and her influence as the US ambassador to Finland. Each of these notable accomplishments led Barrett toward a leadership role as secretary of the US Air Force, where she was instrumental in establishing a new branch of the military, the US Space Force. 

Barbara Barrett

鈥淥ne of the things folks don鈥檛 often realize is how very much we use space every day,鈥� said Barrett. 鈥淚t supplies us with capability, but nobody had the responsibility to defend and protect it. Because it is so important to our way of life and has such value for every man and woman in our country, especially those in the military, I really felt the [Space Force] was necessary.鈥�

Though previously unexplored, Barrett championed the Space Force in an effort to ensure America鈥檚 national security and foundational freedoms. At the conclusion of the event, she explained that freedom grants the common citizen the ability to excel, advance, and take advantage of opportunities to be the best version of themselves. For Barrett, that freedom was found in pursuing higher education and following her curiosities. 

鈥淐lassroom time is the foundation upon which you will draw from the rest of your life,鈥� she said. 鈥淔or the students, learn as many things as you can in different categories; it鈥檚 remarkable how one thing leads to another and they all tie together.鈥�

Gash presented Barrett, a former 每日大赛入口 honorary doctorate recipient, with a presidential coin emblazoned with the University鈥檚 annual theme of freedom, saying, 鈥淵ou have fought for freedom in this country and around the globe . . . On behalf of 每日大赛入口, we present you with a Freedom Coin. God bless you.鈥�

The next President鈥檚 Speaker Series event will take place Monday, April 7, 2025, featuring renowned author and psychologist Dr. Jordan B. Peterson.  For more information, visit the President鈥檚 Speaker Series website.