"I was caught in the crossroads of my life," New Jersey Secretary of State Regena Thomas said. "But lo and behold, it was my life experiences that allowed me to be a negotiator. I'm the Secretary of State of a state I never lived in."
Thomas' speech yesterday, titled "Women in Politics," was sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School, and featured inspirational details of Thomas's life.
Thomas said she believes her role as a politician is complemented, not hampered, by her other roles as a woman.
"I am a woman. I am a mother. I am a best friend," Thomas said. "It is my life experiences that make me a woman politician."
Thomas spoke of her struggles to find direction and meaning in her life while growing up in a small town in Kentucky.
"I didn't know what a library was until I was 14 years old," Thomas said. "I was used to bookmobiles."
As a young girl, Thomas went to both a Catholic private school and a predominantly Jewish public school. She said she was often disciplined because she did not understand her changing environment.
After graduating from high school, the six-foot-tall teenager was recruited for basketball by Morehead State University. Held to the same standards as male athletes, Thomas said she often challenged the school system.
"Every time I challenged, I ran more. Every time I questioned, I ran more," Thomas said. "I was one of the few African-Americans with a G.P.A., so I could challenge the school and not get threatened to be thrown out."
After graduating from Morehead State University with a degree in pre-law and sociology, Thomas met Georgia Powells, the first female African-American in the Kentucky Senate. Thomas began working for Powells in 1980.
Thomas later became the junior senator under Powells and und her personal relationships and outgoing nature helped her in her professional life.
"I cut deals for Senator Powells. I gained access to the coal miners because of someone who I had played basketball with at Morehead, her father was on the line — I gained access to western Kentucky because of her ancestry. I gained access to Louisville because I was one of the best female basketball players at the beginning of Title IX," Thomas said.
A strong supporter of professional women, Thomas stressed that creating divisions between men and women will not solve problems.
"We have to find the common ground. If you ask all women to stand, the men feel threatened, but you have to find something in common between them," Thomas said.
Thomas was sworn in as the 31st secretary of state in January 2002 and is responsible for the promotion and preservation of arts, history and culture of New Jersey, Wilson School dean Anne-Marie Slaughter '80 said in her introduction.
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