Sandra Day O'Connor

"Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time."

SUPREME COURT JUSTICE
FIRST woman on the United States Supreme Court, often serving as the "swing" voter on the bench
Graduated third in her class at Stanford University law school, completing in two years instead of the standard three
More than forty firms refused to hire her as a lawyer after she graduated from law school because she was a woman, although one did offer her a job -- as a secretary!
Started her own law firm
Served as state senator for three terms, and became the FIRST woman nationwide to hold the position of majority leader of a state legislature
Founded iCivics, an organization dedicated to encouraging civic participation through children's education
Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Public Domain Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography: Doyle, Caitlin. Girls Can Do Anything: From Sports to Innovation, Art to Politics, Meet Over 200 Women Who Got There First. Buffalo: Firefly Books, 2016. Print.
Drimmer, Stephanie W. National Geographic Kids: The Book of Heroines: Tales of History's Gutsiest Gals. Washington DC: National Geographic Partners, LLC, 2016. Print.
Palmer, Barbara. "O'Connor, Sandra Day." The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History, Vol. 3, Oxford University Press, 2008, 381-382.

Support these organizations dedicated to preserving her story and mission:

Sandra Day O'Connor Institute
iCivics

Books by this Awesome Woman

Lazy B: Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest

Out of Order: Stories from the History of the Supreme Court

The Majesty of the Law: Reflections of a Supreme Court Justice

Biographies for Kids and Young Adults

Women of Achievement: Sandra Day O'Connor

Research

Sandra Day O'Connor: Justice in the Balance

Sandra Day O'Connor: How the First Woman on the Supreme Court Became Its Most Influential Justice

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor: Strategist on the Supreme Court

Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World

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