Sonia Sotomayor is a trailblazing Puerto Rican role model for young woman everywhere. She was born in the Bronx in 1954 to her hard-working parents at a time when neither women nor Latinos worked as trial court justices. Sonia was the third woman and first Hispanic judge to serve on the court. Her success did not come without trial. She was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 7 and lost her father by the time she was 9 years old. Despite the family tragedy, her mom worked extra hours to send Sonia and her brother to a private school, and Sonia went on to graduate as valedictorian of her class. She was inspired by television character Perry Mason and book character Nancy Drew. Sonia went on achieve her dreams and beyond. She has been involved in cases that set legal precedents for both entertainment and sports and became a Supreme Court Judge in 2009.