New Jersey's Cory Booker talks about life, losses, mentors and how he became a U.S. senator

Susannah Hutcheson | Special for USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Cory Booker to stop accepting campaign donations from corporate PACs Possibly looking at a 2020 presidential run, Democratic New Jersey Senator Cory Booker says he will no longer accept donations from corporate PACs. Veuer's Maria Mercedes Galuppo has more.

Our series “How I became a …” digs into the stories of accomplished and influential people, finding out how they got to where they are in their careers.

Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

New Jersey’s Cory Booker is a rising star in the world of U.S. politics. The U.S. senator, who previously served as mayor of Newark, has become one of the most well-known politicians in the country. With more than 4 million followers on Twitter and more than a million likes on Facebook, the 48-year old Democrat has had many Americans wondering if the vegan from Jersey will one day be on the presidential race ticket.

USA TODAY caught up with Sen. Booker to chat about everything from his failed mayoral run in 2002 and Oscar nominations to leading with love and his favorite podcasts.

Question: What’s your coffee order?

Answer: I would say black with some type of non-dairy milk.

Q. Who is your biggest mentor?

A. I would definitely say my mom. It’s a tough contest between my mom and my dad, but I’ll let my mom edge him out because she evidenced for me so well what living a full life is all about. It showed in everything from her constant commitment to service no matter what. She served in her church, she served in community-based organizations, she served in civil rights organizations, she served at my school as a mom on field trips. She was so disciplined: constantly focused on improving herself, always reading and learning. She was just kind to people, and her kindness in treating everyone was a great model for me to emulate. In addition, just her grit, hard work and toughness to rise in her professional work and succeed by hard work and discipline.

Senator Booker’s passionate fiery speech during Senate hearing Senator Cory Booker got heated up delivering a passionate speech about President Trump’s reported comments about immigrants.

Q. What is the coolest thing that you have ever done?

A. I think that it was pretty incredible — one of my favorite moments as an American — was to be in the Dulles airport (in northern Virginia), watching a concourse full of hundreds of people cheering Muslim families who were coming off planes (during protests against a presidential executive order in early 2017 banning immigrants from Muslim countries). To see the whole diversity of America … I saw people in yarmulkes cheering on Muslims, really united there, celebrating our country’s values and being willing to stand up for them. That was incredible to me.

Q. What does a typical day look like for you?

A. There is no typical day. Every day is very, very different in the sense that I do everything from sit in foreign policy discussions about conflicts far away to greet students in schools or here in Washington, to running around my state to visit with small businesses and entrepreneurs, to greeting dignitaries from other countries, to sitting and reading briefing document after briefing document, to standing up and giving speeches in front of small clubs in New Jersey or thousands of people. The only thing that is the same in this job is that every day is different.

Newark Mayor Booker Wins Senate Seat From NJ New Jersey elected Newark Mayor Cory Booker US Senator on Wednesday. The special election was held to fill the seat left vacant when Senator Frank Lautenberg died in June. (Oct. 17)

Q. What does your career path look like, from college age to now?

A. I was an undergraduate Stanford student who played football, and I graduated Stanford and went right into a master’s program. I got my master’s from Stanford, and then I won a Rhodes Scholarship and went overseas and studied in Oxford, England, for two years. I came back and got a law degree at Yale, and then, as my dad said, I had “more degrees than the month of July, but I wasn’t hot.”

I learned from them that life’s not about the degrees that you get but the service you give, and so I moved into the central ward of Newark and began working as a tenants' rights lawyer representing folks against bad landlords and housing disputes. Then I was elected to be a Newark city councilman, representing the central ward, in 1998.

I ran for mayor in 2002 and failed and lost. And, I really do advise you, if you’re going to have a spectacular failure in your life, have a documentary team there to capture it. The documentary was nominated for an Academy Award and sadly lost to March of the (dagnab) Penguins.

Then I worked as a private lawyer helping a non-profit in Newark and still doing pro bono legal work in the community. Then, in 2006, I was elected to be mayor of the great city of Newark. I served almost two full terms — almost eight years — and then I was elected by the great state of New Jersey to be one of its two United States senators.

Q. What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned?

A. I think the biggest lesson in my life always comes back to lessons of love. That’s what we’re called to do: To love with more courage, to love with more commitment, to love with more sacrifice. The greater love we render to the world — to our country; to our community; to humanity. The more love you can render, the greater impact you’re going to make. Never underestimate the enduring power of the smallest act of love and service.

Q. What are some of your go-to podcasts?

Booker at DNC: 'Love Always Trumps Hate' New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker called for unity and "love of countrymen" in his Democratic convention speech Monday night.

Q. What advice would you give someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?

A. Life is about purpose, not position. Live life with the purpose to serve, the purpose to help, the purpose to bring together: the purpose of love. I think if you get up every single day with that determination, your life path is going to lead you to places beyond your imagination.