U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor was in Vermont Monday and joined University of Vermont President Marlene Tromp for an evening conversation about her life and work on the nation’s high court. Security was tight, with no recording allowed inside. But WAMC’s North Country Bureau Chief pat Bradley was there to take notes and talk with fellow attendees.
The event was part of UVM’s Patrick Leahy Honors College 2025 Leahy Public Policy Forum, and the Ira Allen Chapel was packed with people waiting to hear from Sotomayor, who came to the bench in 2009 after being nominated by President Barack Obama.
Philosophy and Anthropology junior Curtis DiNapoli said he is worried about decisions being issued by the U. S. Supreme Court.
“I wanted to hear Sotomayor speak. I think she’s a very impactful woman on our country and I think we’re on a very concerning path.” DiNapoli added, “I think she’s a very important figure in trying to correct us from that downward slope.”
Fairfax resident and UVM Center on Disability and Community Inclusion Director Jesse Suter said a series of decisions from the Supreme Court are whittling away fundamental freedoms and putting our democracy at risk. He praised Sotomayor’s dissent in many of those rulings.
“I would love some hope. She’s been courageous and I’m unsure what else she can do from her position. So I’m expecting her to challenge us with some more ideas for how we can support her. She can’t fix it alone,” Suter said.
The event began with comments from college and Vermont officials, including Republican Governor Phil Scott, who quipped that tickets for the event sold out quicker than a Taylor Swift concert. He recalled a National Governor’s Association workshop he attended featuring Sotomayor and her fellow Justice Amy Comey Barrett and how Sotomayor set the tone for that conversation.
As the justice came to the stage Monday evening, the audience rose with resounding applause and cheers.
The first question focused on Sotomayor’s memoir and mentoring. She said too many people are embarrassed to say they don’t know something. But throughout her life, people were always there for her and the greatest key to her success has been to ask questions and seek help.
When UVM President Marlene Tromp asked Sotomayor how she finds the fortitude to press on past challenges, Sotomayer responded that if you spend too much time worrying about what will happen you won’t do anything. If you get something wrong or fail, you can learn from it and change course.
Later in the conversation, Sotomayor said we are in a difficult time in American history. But while people should be worried, she said we should not throw up our hands, because if you don’t believe you can change things, then we are lost. She also criticized current federal immigration policies, noting that if we lose the understanding that America was built on immigration, then the country is lost.
Her parting advice: put your heart and passion into what you do. Every time you are disappointed take time to cry a bit, and after grieving get up and start again.
Sotomayor received a standing ovation and cheers as she concluded.
Psychology sophomore Maya Varoglu found Sotomayor’s comments inspiring.
“I thought it was amazing. I was really impressed with the questions that were asked. And I just thought it was really amazing to get to see speak on stage and I thought her advice was really thoughtful and helpful,” Varoglu said.
Earlier in the day, Sotomayor met with 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students from Burlington, Winooski and Charlotte. Dean of the College of Education and Social Services Katie Shepherd says the children were captivated.
“She answered questions that the kids had prepared ahead of time and then she invited them to ask spontaneous questions. And that was just really fun. And she told great stories from her childhood and how she became a lawyer and then a judge,” Shepherd recalled. “And just like tonight she shared a lot of wisdom with the kids and they were transfixed. And I think they will remember some of the things she told them. As she was leaving all 75 of them tried to hug her at once.”
