As we move ahead, in the years to come, it is going to be crucially important that America field the best educated, the most motivated, the most innovative young people that it can in order to be competitive worldwide. San José State has always played an important role in that regard, and it must continue and even further enhance its accomplishments

Back in the '60s when you drove from Oakland to San José, there was nothing on the freeway when you left Oakland until you hit San José it was all farmland. San José was a good hour and a half drive from home, so I thought it was a great place to establish some independence.

I have no illusions that part of life is luck. I do not discount that. I go out for a walk every morning and I look up to the sky and say, Thank you.' I don't know who I'm thanking, but I'm not taking anything for granted

I'm one of those people who doesn't want to be comfortable with being on the summit. I ask myself, how do I continue to be relevant? How do I continue learning and being as excited as I was when I didn't know what my career was going to be? How do I make sure I still have that hunger and the energy to look forward, keeping my edge?

When I was growing up I did quite well in math. Once, I was in this grade school competition, and one of the counselors said to my parents, 'She did really well on her math scores; she ought to be a math teacher.' My father replied, 'She doesn't have to be a math teacher. She can be whatever she wants to be.'

My grandfather was an immigrant from Japan and there was a lot of persecution. He told me to be the best at what you can be. 'If you're the best no one can take that away from you. It only takes one person to take your job away. Learning is not just for facts and knowledge; learning is a process. If you can learn one job you can always learn another, but you better have the tools to do that.'

My family realized that to be something we had to succeed in education. We worked on the farm, and it was very difficult. I also worked in my parents' grocery store, but I wanted a change. I wanted to get an education and become something. It was always my dream and my parents' dream that we finish school and go on to do something different, so I left everything behind.