Most people are familiar with Hillary Clinton’s recent career history – as a former New York Senator and a competitive candidate for President of the U.S. Yet Hillary has been taking action for decades before she came upon the national stage.

She began her activism at Wellesley College, where she was involved in student politics and elected Senior Class President before graduating in 1969. She was then off to Yale Law School, where she met future husband Bill Clinton, and graduated with honors in 1973. Next, Hillary embarked on a one year post-graduate program to study one of her passions, children and medicine at Yale Child Study Center.

After Yale, it was straight on to politics and in the spring of 1974, Rodham became a member of the presidential impeachment inquiry staff advising the House of Representatives on the Watergate Scandal. In August 1974, she became a faculty member of the University of Arkansas Law School, where her boyfriend, Bill Clinton, also taught.

Hillary and Bill married in 1975, and in 1976 she began working on Jimmy Carter’s successful campaign for president. A year later, she joined the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock, Arkansas and also served as the part-time chairman of the Legal Services Corporation by President Carter.

Rodham Clinton was also the First Lady of Arkansas (her husband was governor) and taking on this role, she chaired the Arkansas Education Standards Committee, co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families and served on the boards of the Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Legal Services and the Children’s Defense Fund – needless to say, Rodham Clinton was one busy woman.

In both 1988 and 1991, The National Law Journal named her one of the most 100 powerful lawyers in America.

In 1992, this legal and political powerhouse burst onto the national scene when her husband ran for president, emerging as a dynamic and valuable partner. Bill Clinton named her to head the Task Force on National Health Reform, and although the controversial plan never came to fruition, her work to nationalize health care added valuable insight into today’s efforts to broaden health care coverage in the U.S.

When her husband’s two terms as president were up, Rodham Clinton didn’t want her political legacy to end too and she decided to run for the U.S. Senate. She beat the popular Republican candidate, Rick Lazio, to become the first wife of a president to both seek and win national office. She also made history as the first ever woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate from New York. In 2006, she easily won re-election.

In 2007, she announced her plans to tackle another first -- to be the first female president. During the 2008, Clinton stepped down when it became clear that Barack Obama had a majority of the delegate vote. Still, Clinton went further than many detractors expected her to and shattered long-standing roadblocks to women in politics.

During the race, Clinton obviously gained the respect of her opponent, because shortly after winning the presidency, Obama nominated Clinton to become Secretary of State. She accepted the nomination and wasted no time after being sworn in. She made her first overseas trip to Asia and sought to create a network of partners on the continent, where she traveled to Japan, China, South Korea and Indonesia.

Passionate about healthcare, human rights, children’s issues, and foreign policy, Hillary Rodham Clinton has left her mark in all arenas of politics and isn’t stopping anytime soon.

So tell us – what do you think Hillary Clinton should focus on in her first months as Secretary of State? Let us know, comment below!