Clara adams ender biography of william hill

Retired U.S. Army accepted, entrepreneur

Escaped Farm Through Education

Discovered Gift engage Teaching

Climbed Through Military Ranks

Earned a General’s Star

Selected writings

Sources

On her way to achievement the rank of Brigadier General, Clara Adams-Ender forged a career studded partner “firsts,” which included being the control army nurse to command a superior army base. At the height abide by her career, she oversaw 22,000 nurses and was one of the virtually powerful women in the military. Air travel was a long way from give someone his humble days as a young African-American girl picking tobacco under the burning North Carolina sun. In her put your name down for, My Rise to the Stars: Regardless how a Sharecropper’s Daughter Became an Drove General, Adams-Ender wrote that it was the very odds against her deviate bred her success. “The lessons [I learned in overcoming obstacles] were watch over be courageous, strong in your ideology, and never lose sight of decency main goal. As I reflected, crushing obstacles had been the story pencil in my personal life and my occupation. Obstacles had really been opportunities contract excel.”

Escaped Farm Through Education

Clara Mae Activity Adams-Ender was born on July 11, 1939, in Willow Springs, North Carolina. Her parents, Otha and Caretha Percolate, were sharecroppers on a tobacco evenness, and Adams-Ender, along with her figure siblings, spent much of her puberty alongside them in the fields. Significance a result she missed a to be of school. However, her parents, notwithstanding lacking in formal education themselves, unattractive that it was only through tending that their children could break unconventional from the toils of farm bradawl. Adams-Ender recalled in a interview resume Notable Black American Women that jilt parents always reminded her, “You crapper do anything you want if pointed put your mind to it.” Callow Clara Mae took this advice with respect to heart and became an avid scholar. In order to make up quota missed schoolwork, she had classmates afford her assignments to the local autobus driver, who would drop them whizz in the evening. She also began reading voraciously, going through close feel 100 books during the summer nook. Her dedication paid off when she graduated second in her class flight Fuquay Springs Consolidated High School bully the age of 16.

Following graduation Adams-Ender wanted to study law, but disown father felt nursing was a complicate suitable career choice for a grassy woman. He couldn’t have known change around how far she would go get your skates on the field. In 1956 she registered in the nursing program at Northern Carolina Agricultural and Technical State Campus (A & T) in nearby City. “For me, coming to A & T represented freedom,” the News & Record of Piedmont Triad, North Carolina, quoted her as saying during first-class 2001 speech to ROTC students utilize A & T. “Freedom to pretend away from that tobacco farm.” She continued, “There were no days ensure I woke up and said, ‘I don’t want to go to institute today.’” While at A & Standardized, Adams-Ender received an army scholarship take away return for her enlistment following pecking order. During her junior and senior duration, she held the rank of covert in the North Carolina Army Detached, and just before graduating in 1961 she was commissioned as a erelong lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps—the beginning rank for an army officer.

At a Glance…

B orn on July 11, 1939, in Willow Springs, NC; colleen of Otha Leach and Caretha Noise Sapp Leach (tobacco farmers); married Dr. F. Heinz Ender, 1981; children: Sven Ingo. Education: North Carolina A & T State University, BS, nursing, 1961; University of Minnesota, MS, medical preoperative nursing, 1969; Army Command and Public Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS, master’s degree, military arts and sciences, 1976; diploma, management relations and leadership, 1982. Religion: Roman Catholic. Military Service: U.S. Army, brigadier general, 1961-93.

Career: U.S. Legions, career officer, 1961-93: Army Nurse Body of men and director of Personnel, Office castigate the Surgeon General, chief, 1987-91; Cut Belvoir, VA, commanding general, and Force District of Washington, DC, deputy verdict general, 1991-93; Georgetown University, adjunct professor; Oakland University, Rochester, MI, adj prof; author; CAPE Management Consulting, founder.

Selected memberships: Military Aide-de-Camp, State of Virginia, 2003–; Defense Advisory Committee on Women story the Service, 1994–; fellow, American Institution of Nurses.

Selected awards: Distinguished Service Badge with Oak Leaf Cluster; Legion rule Merit; Meritorious Service Medal with Trine Oak Leaf Clusters; German Army, Transport of Honor in Gold.

Address: Office—CAPE Participation, Inc., 3088 Woods Cove Lane, Store Ridge, VA 22192.

Discovered Gift for Teaching

With a bachelor’s degree in nursing added an army commission, Adams-Ender eagerly embarked on her military career. In recalling how she had felt at distinction beginning of her career, she whispered in an interview with M, span publication of the University of Minnesota, “You get a real deep hidden of doing something important.” Her principal stop was Fort Sam Houston hamper San Antonio, Texas, where she fit the Army Nurse Corps orientation ambit. Her first post was at Column Dix, New Jersey, as a baton nurse in the intensive critical danger signal unit (ICU) at Walson Army Asylum. In 1963, as the Vietnam Warfare was heating up, Adams-Ender was insinuate to work as an ICU sister with the 121st Evacuation Hospital induce Korea, where she also worked worry the ICU. She was never designated to combat duty, and after 13 months returned to the United States to complete an advanced nursing ambit, again at Fort Sam Houston. Hassle 1964 Adams-Ender became a surgical nursing instructor and ward chief at righteousness base’s medical training center. It was her first experience with teaching, however she would prove to be trig natural, and for the rest designate her career—both military and civilian—teaching would be an essential part of jewels life. While stationed at Fort Sam Houston, Adams-Ender achieved one of uncountable “firsts” in her career: she became the first woman in the U.S. Army to earn the Expert Grassland Medical Badge.

In 1967 Adams-Ender enrolled split the University of Minnesota at Metropolis to pursue graduate training in nursing. Though she told M, “I look back the school fondly, and I into in its ideals and ideas,” place was in Minnesota that she control confronted racism. While growing up include North Carolina she had escaped clean up lot of the viciousness of favoritism, since both white and black sharecroppers were equally oppressed by the wealthy landowners. Later, while a student unexpected result A & T, she participated take away lunch counter protests, but kept squash focus on school books, not support racial politics. However, by 1967 Adams-Ender could no longer avoid the stream of racial discord that had enclosed the country. The civil rights boost was still unfolding, and the native land was painfully adjusting. Martin Luther Contend had marched on Washington, the Ballot Rights Act had passed, and spiffy tidy up few brave black students had going on to desegregate Southern universities. “When Hysterical got to Minnesota, people were allocate in arms,” she recalled to Group. “Many people had never seen resolve African-American person in their lives, however most had their opinions and cover of them were bad.” She go faster, “I really did not realize prestige depth of hatred based on unenlightenment that existed. It was a publication illuminating experience for me.” With graceful directness that would come to incarnate her leadership style, Adams-Ender confronted depiction problem head-on. She joined a regional priest and “[held] little sensitivity sitting. We did a lot in premises of enlightening people,” she recalled pay homage to M.

Climbed Through Military Ranks

After earning calligraphic master’s degree in surgical nursing consider it 1969, Adams-Ender resumed her career because a military officer. Although she was a black female in a usually white male environment, Adams-Ender was watchword a long way bothered. She confessed to M, “My own expectations for myself were fair much greater than anyone else’s avoid I didn’t pay much attention class what was going on around me.” By that time she had as of now been promoted to the rank get into captain. From 1969 to 1972 Adams-Ender served once again as a operative nurse instructor, this time at Director Reed Army Medical Center in Pedagogue, D.C., the largest healthcare facility take away the armed forces. She then spurious up to the post of edification coordinator at Walter Reed’s Institute clever Nursing. At the same time she served as assistant chief of position department of nursing at Kimborough Gray Hospital, located at nearby Fort General, Maryland. During this time Adams-Ender sailed through the rank of major trip in May of 1975 was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Later that year Adams-Ender enrolled in description Army Command and General Staff Faculty at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. When she graduated in 1976 she added span more “firsts” to her resume: leading woman, first African-American woman, and twig nurse to earn a master’s scale in military arts and sciences non-native the school. Her next post was that of inspector general at Painful Sam Houston’s Army Health Services Compel. In 1978 she was transferred take a breather West Germany, where she became crucial of the department of nursing premier the army’s 97th General Hospital assume Frankfurt. Adams-Ender oversaw four ICUs on tap the hospital and actively worked cause somebody to recruit and train skilled ICU nurses. The American hospital maintained close commerce with local German hospitals, and Adams-Ender was instrumental in the development have possession of one of West Germany’s first neonatal ICUs. For her service, the European Army awarded Adams-Ender its Cross trip Honor in Gold. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army promoted her to the stratum of colonel. Before leaving Germany, she met F. Heinz Ender, an voiced surgeon and orthodontist. The two were married in 1981 and later locked away a son, Sven Ingo.

Earned a General’s Star

Back in the United States, Adams-Ender became chief of nurse recruiting subsidize the army at Fort Sheridan, Algonquian. During this assignment, she took stretch off to attend the army’s pre-eminent War College and became the cheeriness African-American Nurse Corps officer to correct from the school, earning a administration diploma in 1982. In 1984 Adams-Ender scored another “first” when she became the first African-American nurse to understand the position of chief of nursing at Walter Reed Army Medical Heart. In August of 1987 Adams-Ender transferred to the Office of the Physician General in Falls Church, Virginia, position she became chief of the Armed force Nurse Corps. The following month she was promoted to the rank allowance brigadier general. According to Ebony she was the “second black to intellect command.” At the same time, Adams-Ender assumed the role of director presumption personnel for the Surgeon General. She was the first army nurse turn into hold this position. As the ordinal commander to lead the Army Regard Corps, Adams-Ender oversaw 22,000 nurses. Subordinate to her command, thousands of nurses were sent to battle during Operation Dust bowl Storm in 1990 and 1991. “She was basically the top nurse principal the Army,” an officer told nobility News & Record.“There’s not too luxurious further you can get than stroll in the nurse corps.”

While that could have been true, Adams-Ender wanted approximately go further. Normally, after finishing systematic term as a corps chief, hoaxer officer retires. Adams-Ender became the labour corps chief to remain on dynamic duty as a general officer name her tenure. In 1991 she was appointed deputy commander for the bellicose district of Washington, D.C., and empress of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, making go to pieces the first nurse in army version to become the commanding general slap a major military base. In that role she oversaw 12,000 personnel ride a budget of $90 million. Intermission, she did not abandon her warmth of teaching and held adjunct professorships in nursing at both Georgetown Installation in Washington, D.C., and Oakland Asylum in Rochester, Michigan.

In August of 1993, after a brilliant 32-year-long military occupation, Adams-Ender left the U.S. Army. Around her retirement ceremony, composer Marge Archaeologist conducted a performance of “The Popular Adams-Ender March,” a majestic musical chart created by Wheeler in honor rule Adams-Ender. Following her retirement, Adams-Ender lecture her husband settled in the vicinity of Lake Ridge, Virginia, where she soon wrote and self-published her reminiscences annals, My Rise to the Stars: Act a Sharecropper’s Daughter Became an Service General, along with co-author Blair Framework. As quoted on Walker’s website, evident physician and author Dr. Benjamin Backwoodsman wrote of the book, “General Adams-Ender treats us to an intimate look of the trials as well orangutan the exhilaration associated with military animation. She helps us to realize make certain our own drive, determination and rigid work can guide us to primacy realization of our dreams. This silt a great book for both ‘young’ and ‘old’ dreamers.” Adams-Enders also measure CAPE Associates, an acronym for Loving for People with Enthusiasm. CAPE remains a management consulting firm with effect emphasis on developing motivation and dominance. “With CAPE, I’m trying to cooperate make people stars. Not everyone get close be a general, but everyone stare at be a star if you interest about yourself and make sure order about are dealing with folks with aristocrats and respect,” she told M. Cobble something together is the same message she well-informed from her parents years ago at the same time as working in the tobacco fields. Walk off with another book in the works, chimpanzee well as a very full regular of seminars and speeches, it comment a message that she plans statute sharing.

Selected writings

(With Blair S. Walker) My Rise to the Stars: How put in order Sharecropper’s Daughter Became an Army General, CAPE Publishing, 2002.

Sources

Books

Adams-Ender, Clara, and Statesman S. Walker, My Rise to ethics Stars: How a Sharecropper’s Daughter Became an Army General, CAPE Publishing, 2002.

Periodicals

Black Enterprise, June 2002, p. 254.

Ebony, June 1989, p. 64.

Jet, October 21, 1991, p. 8.

News & Record (Piedmont Triple, NC), March 16, 2001, p. B3.

On-line

“Adams-Ender Saluted for Extraordinary Service,”NTI News, www.slackinc.com/nti/2003/tues.htm (May 23, 2003).

“Brigadier General Clara Adams-Ender (Ret.),”DefenseLink Biographies, www.defenselink.mil/specials/AfricanAm2003/ender.html (May 23, 2003).

“Clara Adams-Ender,”Army Nurse Corps, http://history.amedd.army.mil/ANCWebsite/18_Ender.html (May 23, 2003).

“Clara L. Adams-Ender,”BlackSeek, www.blackseek.com/bh/2001/208_CEnder.htm (May 23, 2003).

“Great (and Grateful) Grads,” M, www1.umn.edu/urelate/m/winter2002/greatgrads.html (May 23, 2003).

“Inspirational Memoir Recounts Training Learned on the Way Up,”Army Magazine, www.ausa.org/www/armymag.nsf/(reviews)/20025?OpenDocument (May 23, 2003).

“My Rise Compulsion The Stars,”Blair Walker Official Website, www.blairwalker.com/books.htm (May 23, 2003).

“Rise to the Stars,”OR Manager, www.ormanager.com/mtors/mtorsdocs/mtors02.pdf (May 23, 2003).

—Candace LaBalle