If my career detour from special education to singing has done one thing, it has afforded me the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others.

I got rid of my glasses and they changed my hair. That's really all they did. They went shopping for me, so the clothes are different too. It wasn't like Extreme Makeover where I got a nose job or anything.

I'd never take a job where I had to do something that I didn't want to do.

I'd hate to have a job where I had to be rude to people.

My mom used to tell me that the most valuable thing she owned was her library card. We were poor, but that's not what she was talking about. My mom knew that education opened doors and opened minds.

Never take your eye off the ball. Always remember that you and everyone on the team is the servant of the cause - in our case, girls' education and young women's leadership in Africa.

My primary and secondary education was in French, which had a lasting influence on my life.

I would abolish the federal Department of Education and very quickly. People don't realize that the federal Department of Education gives each state 11 cents out of every school dollar that every state spends. But it comes with 15 cents worth of strings attached.