Barbara Bush

As First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, Barbara Pierce Bush became one of the most admired women in America. She was only 16 when she met her future husband, George Herbert Walker Bush at a Christmas dance. The couple corresponded throughout his service overseas in World War II and married in 1945. Although she had worked in defense plants during the war, after her marriage she devoted herself to her home and raising her children. Although both George and Barbara Bush had deep roots in the Northeast, they moved to Texas in 1950, where George Bush made a career in the oil industry. Barbara Bush enthusiastically supported her husband's political career, as he advanced from the United States Congress, through diplomatic service in Washington and Beijing, to election as the 41st President of the United States. As First Lady, Barbara Bush won the affection of the American public with her grace, candor and down-to-earth manner. Throughout her life, she has devoted much of her formidable energy to humanitarian causes; she made a special cause of promoting literacy. While living in the White House, she wrote Millie's Book, a humorous story about the family dog. The book became a bestseller, and Mrs. Bush donated all the profits to charities promoting literacy. She continued her literacy campaign long after her White House years, and saw her son George W. Bush become Governor of Texas and President of the United States. In this podcast, recorded at the Academy of Achievement's 1997 Summit in Baltimore, Maryland, she urges the Academy's student delegates to embrace the values of friendship, family and service to others.