In the Spotlight: Sandra Day O’Connor

Sandra Day was born in El Paso, Texas on March 26, 1930. She spent her childhood on her family’s ranch, called the Lazy B in Arizona. Sandra exhibited intelligence and curiosity at a very young age. However, educational opportunities were very limited for young ladies near her parents house. Therefore, she went to her grandmothers in El Paso and attended Radford School for Girls. Sandra excelled at the school and graduated two years early.

At the age of sixteen, Sandra Day O’Connor was admitted to Stanford University. She earned a Bachelor's degree in economics and in 1950, she was admitted to Stanford Law School. Sandra completed law school in two years and graduated third in her class. After graduating law school she struggled to find work in law due to the bias against women in the legal field. Hence, Sandra began working for the county attorney in San Mateo for free, after she rejected a job offer as a legal secretary. 

In 1954, Sandra left her job in California to work as a civilian attorney for the Quartermaster Masker Center in Frankfurt, Germany. In 1957, she returned to the U.S. and settled in Arizona with her husband. She established a private practice with a fellow attorney. In 1965, Sandra started a new job as the Assistant Attorney General of Arizona. In 1969, She was appointed to the state senate to fill a vacant seat. The following year, was elected to the state senate for a full term as a Republican. Sandra was re-elected twice to the state senate and was the first female that served as Majority Leader in any state. In 1975, she won her election for the Superior Court of Maricopa County and was appointed to the Arizona Supreme Court of Appeals in 1979. In 1981, President Ronald Regan nominated her to serve on the Supreme Court. She was unanimously approved by the Senate and became the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court. 

Sandra Day O’Connor served on the Supreme Court for over 20 years and retired in 2006 to care for her husband who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. After retiring from the U.S. Supreme Court, she founded iCivics, a website that provides creative and effective teaching tools for teaching young people civics.

Sandra Day O’Connor was a trailblazer for women. She demanded the same opportunities as men in the workplace. Sandra also earned the respect and admiration of all due to her unwavering work ethic and commitment to the practice of law. She paved the way for countless women to take a male dominated world by storm and achieve their aspirations in life. Thank you Ms. O’Connor for all you have done and continue to do for your country.