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TWC students enjoyed a lecture by Norman Y. Mineta, who most recently served as the U.S. Secretary of Transportation in President George W. Bush's Cabinet.

Mineta’s lecture was the first of the semester’s Alan K. Simpson-Norman Y. Mineta Leaders Series (SMLS). Former Secretary Mineta spoke on a number of topics, including the unique career transitions he made throughout his lifetime. He started out as a Berkeley graduate working at his father's insurance agency, eventually became the Mayor of San Jose, and most recently served as the only Democratic Cabinet Secretary in the Bush Administration.

Mineta also discussed his and his family’s internment during World War II and the discrimination he faced as a Japanese-American in the Heart Mountain internment camp near Cody, Wyoming. Although it was one of the hardest periods of his life, it was where he met Alan K. Simpson, who became a lifelong friend and eventually went on to serve many years as a U.S. Senator from Wyoming. Mineta ended his lecture by answering questions from the audience on topics such the high-speed rail.

[View photos of the event on our Flickr channel]