Rain pattered steadily on the window while a five-year-old girl peered out the window in her small Ottawa apartment. A look of sorrow came upon her young face when her father put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. He told her that even though these times were difficult for them, it would all be worth it in the end. In addition, he told his daughter that someday, they would go to an opera together, sit in a box and she would wear a long dark red velvet ball gown. Little did she know that her father was right. Nearly sixty years from that moment, that little girl would become a renowned journalist and obtain a prestigious government job. That girl would grow up to be Adrienne Clarkson, one of the most prominent figures in Canada, leading diversity into the twenty-first century, forever changing what it means to be Canadian.
             Adrienne Clarkson's transformation from refugee to governor-general is reminiscent of the classic Cinderella story. She was born in Hong Kong on February 10, 1939, to William Poy and Ethel Lam in a country torn by war. China was in the midst of a war with Japan, and the invasion of Hong Kong by the Japanese prompted the Poy family to emigrate to Canada. Chinese immigrants were banned from entering Canada however, Poy¡¯s work with the Canadian Trade Commission and his Australian birth are believed to be what let the Poy family in. Life in Canada was difficult for the Poys. They faced discriminatory barriers throughout most of their lives and they struggled to keep their culture in an English-dominant community. Clarkson did not let that stop her from her dream to become a university professor. In school, she received high marks and worked her way to the prestigious University of Toronto, where she earned her M.A. in English. By this time, Clarkson had her first article published by Maclean¡¯s magazine and earned the Governor General¡¯s Medal. After graduating, she and a friend toured Europe and England, where...