Ruth B. Love*

Ruth B. Love was born in 1932 in Lawton, Oklahoma. One of the biggest influences on her life was her maternal grandfather. "He ran away from slavery when he was 12 and later became a teacher," she says. "Growing up, I always wanted to be a teacher."

Love's father was a construction laborer who later became a contractor. Although the family was poor, Love says she did not realize it at the time. They lived in a small house that her father built in a segregated area of Bakersfield.

Education was highly valued in Love's home. She attended San Jose State University, where she earned her undergraduate degree, followed by a master's degree from San Francisco State University (SFSU) and a doctorate from San Diego's United States International University.

Love's career in education includes serving as superintendent of schools in both Chicago and Oakland. She was president of RBL Enterprises, which performs superintendent searches and trains teachers and administrators. She was also a professor for graduate students at SFSU until her retirement in 2014. Recently, she helped develop a doctorate program in urban education for four universities.

Love says life is a gift. "We all have an awesome responsibility not to waste time," she says. "Youths should develop and be guided by a belief system. They need to learn to turn their obstacles into opportunities."

Love says she often boasts about her Horatio Alger Award. "To me, it means that you can transcend your circumstances no matter how difficult they are. Surviving is not enough. You have to go beyond your obstacles and blossom," says Love. She adds that she is happy to see how far not only women but also African Americans have come in the professional world. "We still have a ways to go, but it is so much better. The challenge of the 21st century is to see the diversity of our country as an asset rather than a disadvantage."