Center for the literary arts in New York State

UAlbany welcomed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to campus on April 4, 2017, for a  Speaker Series event and a private discussion with students, faculty and staff.

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Sotomayor addressed a sold-out crowd of more than 4,500 at the university's SEFCU Arena. While circling the arena and shaking hands, Justice Sotomayor spoke about everything from facing sexism and the challenges of diabetes, to her love of baseball and jazz.

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She encouraged the audience to value each minute of life you are given.

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“We don’t know when our last day will be,” Sotomayor said. “We should take every moment of our life and squeeze as much out of it as we can. A new experience. Something that we’ve learned that gives us further insight. Meeting people that enrich us and make us grow. That should be all of our lives, but we often forget it.”

 

The event was free and open to UAlbany students, faculty/staff, alumni and the general public. It was moderated by New York State Writers Institute Director Paul Grondahl.