Wellesley hadn’t seen a demonstration in a long while, but the late 1960s were vibrant times. The Massachusetts college had always been quite closed; we were trying to change that, baby steps at a time. I chaired the student education committee which was set up to give the all-female students a role in shaping the academic side of the college. We organised this rally to try to change college policy on the way non-core subjects, such as physical education, were graded. We wanted pass or fail, rather than a competitive grading system.

We wanted to ensure the rally wasn’t seen as partisan, so we invited speakers from both sides of the political divide. It is well known that Hillary Clinton shifted her politics while at college, but at this point (she was a sophomore, or second year student), the perception was that she was still a Republican.

Even at that time, she was a good speaker. She was curious, serious and intellectually active. I was two years ahead of her, studying political science and history of art; we lived in the same dorm and were friends. Civil rights, women’s rights, Vietnam: all these critical issues were bubbling.

The previous summer, at the end of my junior year, I had interned on Capitol Hill with a progressive Democratic senator called Joseph Clark, and I had come back to Wellesley buzzing with it. Hillary listened to us talking about our experiences, and my sense was she really wanted to be part of it. Her style, taking in others’ opinions and formulating her position, was evident all these years ago.

Two years after this rally, she became student government president, and the first student to give a graduation speech at Wellesley; her criticism of the guest speaker, Senator Edward Brooke, made national headlines. Did I ever think she could be president? I’m not sure we had our sights set that high, but Hillary clearly stood out as a leader.

After Wellesley, Hillary’s career intertwined with mine; at one point, we were both working for the Children’s Defense Fund. When I worked in the US House of Representatives, I went to speak in Arkansas and stayed at the governor’s mansion. After more than a decade, I left the government; but when Governor Clinton became president, Hillary recommended me for a job as a senior official in health and human services.

Today, I continue to work in the area of inequality, trying to advance opportunities for disadvantaged people: ensuring that children of low-income families can read proficiently by the end of third grade; consulting on disability rights; and creating opportunities for women and girls.

The two years after my graduation from Wellesley – Hillary’s final years there – were pivotal in the women’s movement; it was gaining energy and traction. I recall conversations I had with her around that time and in the early 1970s, about whether it was possible to manage a marriage and a career. The goal for some Wellesley girls was to meet the right partner and get married. Hillary always wanted a career of her own.

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