A special visit
by Catherine Deyarmond
St. Mary’s University School of Law students, faculty and staff took advantage of a rare opportunity to hear firsthand from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina and third woman to be appointed to the nation’s highest court.
On Jan. 28, 2025, in the Mengler Conference Room in the University Center, Sotomayor answered questions from law students who were interested in her journey to the Supreme Court. As she answered their questions, Sotomayor walked around the capacity crowd.
As a Puerto Rican girl growing up in a housing project in the Bronx, Sotomayor shared that her career has led her much further than her dreams. Addressing the attentive crowd she added, “That is my hope for all of you.”
“Take each day as one step into doing something a little better,” she said.
Warning against worrying about measuring up to others, she said, “I only looked at what I was doing; I didn’t compare myself to others.”
When asked about navigating the legal field as the only Latina in her early days, Sotomayor advised students to remain who they are.
“In every environment I’m in, I remain me,” she said. “I don’t apologize for having an accent. I wear it with pride. Share your experiences. You have to be able to live in your own skin.”
Sotomayor praised the students for choosing a law school that prioritizes serving the community.
“Being a good person is a choice in life,” she said. “You can make a choice to do good in this world. I wanted my life to have more meaning.”
