DHS group finds 'a love of people' in Sotomayor

Ocala Star-Banner (FL) April 7, 2010
Author: Suevon Lee, Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — To these local high school students, Sonia Sotomayor was once just another face on the U.S. Supreme Court bench, except with a name that sounded like theirs.

But by mid-morning Thursday, Sotomayor was no longer the distant, impersonal public official they recalled from media reports and last year's televised confirmation hearing.

For 20 minutes in a private dining room at the U.S. Supreme Court, 10 Dunnellon High School students, two of their teachers and a parent chaperone sat with Sotomayor around a large table and were given the opportunity to ask questions and speak with her.

"Her warmth was so disarming," said John Quinones, the government teacher whose letter to the justice last October made the meeting possible.

"She was very motivational and inspirational," said Bianca Saqui, who asked the justice for words of advice to high school seniors like her about to embark on the next chapter of their lives.

"Don't give up," is how she said the justice responded.

The students, most of whom are recent immigrants to the United States from places like Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico and Haiti, are E.S.O.L students in Quinones' government class.

Posted By: Ayanna Spikes

DHS group finds 'a love of people' in Sotomayor
Lee, Suevon. "DHS group finds 'a love of people' in Sotomayor." Ocala Star-Banner (FL) 16 Apr. 2010, News: NewsBank. Web. 16 Apr. 2010.