Sonia Sotomayer was born June 25th, 1954 in New York, NY and grew up in the Bronx. She attended Cardinal Spellman High School and was involved in student government and was named the valedictorian in 1972.  She enrolled at Princeton University on a full scholarship, but being only one of a handful of female students, and one of a small group of Latino students, brought on its share of issues. She had to work harder on her writing and vocabulary skills.  As a senior, she won the Pyne Prize, the top award for undergraduates, which reflected both strong grades and extracurricular activities and graduated summa cum laude in 1976.

Sotomayer entered Yale Law School on a full scholarship.  Again she noticed there were few Latino students but worked very hard and in her second year, was hired as a summer associate with the New York law firm, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, & Garrison.  Though not offered a position, she was admitted to the New York Bar in 1980.

1984 was the year Sonia entered private practice. Fast forward to 1992 she was nominated by president George H.W. Bush for the position of U.S. district court and unanimously by the senate. During Barack Obama’s president era in may 26, 2009, he nominated her for the role Supreme Court justice and replaced Justine David Souter. She became the first Latina Supreme Court justice in U.S. history.