On her own, my mother raised my brother and me,” the judge said in her opening remarks. “She taught us that the key to success in America is a good education. And she set the example, studying alongside my brother and me at our kitchen table so that she could become a registered nurse.”
Sotomayor’s admiration for her mother is a theme that runs throughout her public career. When President Obama nominated her to the Supreme Court, she politely thanked him but quickly gave tribute to her mother.
“I stand on the shoulders of countless people,” the Supreme Court nominee said. “Yet there is one extraordinary person who is my life aspiration. That person is my mother, Celina Sotomayor.”
