FAIRBANKS — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor shared some of her personal experiences with an audience in Fairbanks, calling on them to help build “a better world.”
Sotomayor spoke Sunday night at the Davis Concert Hall as part of a summer speaker series hosted by the University of Alaska Fairbanks, The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported.
The justice answered pre-submitted questions on topics ranging from the inner workings of the high court to her own life experiences.
Sotomayor, who made history as the first Hispanic to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, also touched on the importance of affirmative action in schools.
She said she got help with her admission into Princeton University through a pilot affirmative action program at her high school in the Bronx in New York. At the time, she said she struggled to understand why she deserved entry over non-minority students but later came to see affirmative action as recognition of potential.
“I felt the indictment that there’s something seriously wrong about looking at students and their promise because that’s what affirmative action is about,” Sotomayor said. “Every person who has a child going to school should hope that that’s what schools are doing because if you’re measuring students and their worth and their potential simply by quantitative numbers — what their SAT scores are, what grade they received in school — you’re going to do a disservice to so many individuals.
Sotomayor also talked about the importance of public service during Sunday’s event. She emphasized that people can make change at different levels, whether through volunteer work or serving on a school board.
“I challenge you to make a better world with me,” she said.
In discussing her legacy, Sotomayor said she wants to be remembered for making a difference in people’s lives, whether big or small.
“I don’t know if I can survive centuries, but I know that I can expand the reach of my life by every life I touch,” she said.
The justice’s words seemed to touch Fairbanks teacher Heather Damario.
“She made the court seem so much more accessible with how personal she was with everybody,” Damario said. “She’s just so personable, and I thought that was very impressive for someone of her caliber.”
