The President’s Speaker Series invited Barbara Barrett to open the first event of the semester.
The President’s Speaker Series welcomes highly regarded scholars and leaders who represent various points of view to speak on important topics in today’s world, according to Pepperdine University‘s website. Recent speakers have included Rick Caruso, Liz Truss and Palmer Luckey.
Barrett holds a Pepperdine honorory doctorate due to her achievements. The event was held on Thursday, March 20 in the Surfboard Room of Payson Library.
President Jim Gash opened up the conversation by first introducing Barrett and her accomplishments. Barrett has worked with the Civil Aeronautics Board, served as the U.S. ambassador to Finland and was a key member in founding the U.S. Space Force.
Barrett also offered advice to the students sitting in the audience who are about to begin their life journey.
“Try to learn as many things as you can in different categories,” Barrett said. “It’s remarkable how one thing leads to another and they all tie together.”
At Pepperdine there is often a lot of talk about purpose, service and leadership, Gash said. Barrett represents Pepperdine’s mission statement: purpose, service and leadership, Gash said.
“It’s difficult to imagine someone who better embodies purpose, service and leadership than Secretary Barrett,” Gash said.
Barrett said her upbringing was crucial to understanding the importance of hard work.
Barrett said she grew up on a Pennsylvania farm, where she was the oldest of six children.
“My dad worked nights in a factory and then farmed in the daytime,” Barrett said. “He was famous to us; growing up he would sleep for half an hour and that would be his night’s sleep.”
Her dad died in a horseback riding accident when she was 13, Barrett said.
“My mother fell apart because she had been a city kid and did not know what to do with six kids on a dirt road,” Barrett said. “So I became the parent of my family when I was 13.”
Barrett said her dad said she had to go to college so when the time came she chose Arizona State University.
“I got jobs in Arizona because I was still supporting my family,” Barrett said. “So I had as many as five jobs at a time, working on campus, working with the State Fair selling hot dogs on a stick; doing all of the things you do just to pay the school tuition.”
Barrett graduated from Arizona State with three degrees, including a law degree, Gash said.
Sandra Day O’Connor is one of Barrett’s mentors, Gash said. Barrett was part of the very first class of interns at the state legislature during the time when Justice O’Connor was the majority leader of the State Senate.
“She [Justice O’Connor] went through the Arizona Revised Statutes page by page and gender neutralized the law so that women could cut men’s hair because previously only men could be barbers. Through that, I was able to see that woman really make a difference in people’s lives.”
After college, Barrett met with the Civil Aeronautics Board to help shape aviation policy Gash said.
“So aviation was an infatuation and I was doing a lot of work there,” Barrett said. “I went to work with Senator O’Connor and wrote the bill to create the Department of Transportation for the state of Arizona.”
In addition to working with the Civil Aeronautics Board, Barrett was afforded the opportunity to be a US diplomat to Finland, Gash said.
“Finland was a great trip for me to recognize that in an ambassador’s role, it is well known that you are the representative of the President, to government to government relations,” Barrett said. “The impact of public diplomacy is having the people of the country be appreciative of our country.”
From there, Barrett was called to be the Secretary of the Air Force and played a huge part in launching the Space Force, Gash said.
“One of the things that people often don’t realize is just how very much you use space every day,” Barrett said. “If you check your email, if you check the weather, if you check the traffic, any of those, you’re almost certainly using space assets.”
Barrett said because the public is not aware of how much they use space, their assets are vulnerable.
“Space supplies us capability,” Barrett said. “But nobody has a responsibility to defend and protect that space.”
President Trump really wanted to build a Space Force to be able to protect space, Barrett said. He gave me the chance to build that force.
“And so the guardians of the Space Force are there working for you every day, and help to make your way of life likely to be preserved,” Barrett said.
One of the questions that Gash asked towards the end of the talk was what advice Barrett had for the students who are at the start of their journey.
“The advice would be to have a plan, but stay flexible and be opportunistic for things that may come up that are beyond the plan,” Barrett said. “Have a plan and think big.”
Gash then spoke about freedom and gave a Pepperdine freedom coin to Barrett.
“I want to give you our freedom coin, but in exchange for your reflections on freedom, personal freedom and freedom in this world,” Gash said. “Tell me what freedom means to you and what you as the future of freedom.”
Barrett said freedom is everything.
“Freedom is the capability of being the best that you can be,” Barrett said. “It’s the opportunity to excel, to form friendships, to interact with people and to have varying experiences and perspectives.”
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Contact Alicia Dofelmier via email: alicia.dofelmier@pepperdine.edu
