Sandra+Day+O'connor+5

__//**Sandra DayO'Connor**//__
Sandra Day O'Connor was the 1__st__ woman to be a Supreme Court Justice. She expressed perserverence by overcoming her childhood, the lack of jobs for women, being not only the first woman to have a position of great importance in her field, but being very controverial in that position, and also breast cancer.

__CHILDHOOD__ Born in El Paso, Texas in 1930, she spent her early childhood on the sprawling family ranch in Southeastern Arizona. There was no electricity, or running water. The only thing she could do is work. So her father decidied to teach her to rope, ride, shoot, repair fences and drive a pickup. Her mother taught her to read.Soon she loved reading.In most of her freetime, she read books. Her parents decided to send her back to El Paso to live with her grandmother when she became of school age. Her grandmother, Mamie Scott Wilkey, is said to have had the greatest influence upon Sandra.

__EDUCATION__ Sandra Day O' Connor graduated with high honors at Stanford University, where she majored in Economics. She also did her graduate work there. In 1952, she graduated from Stanford's Law school. She also met her husband, John, while attending Stanford. __LACK OF JOBS__ Although she graduated with high honors, she had a hard time finding work .Her first job was as an editor,working for countless hours in a library. President Ronald Reagan was inspired. So, in 1981, he nominated Sandra to be in the Supreme Court. She accepted the nomination.Sandra wanted to let people know that there was a woman in the Supreme Court. Three years later, she was a lawyer, and an associate judge for the Supreme Court. . she retired in 2006 .On August 12, 2009, she was awarded the presidential mdtal of freedom, the highest civilian honor of the United States, by President Barak Obama.

__ON THE BENCH__ Justice O'Connor had a reputation for being cold and humorless. She was considered to be conservative and tough, unless the issue was about children or women's rights. She did not like being the swing vote on a decision, instead she liked to go with compromise. She has been referred to as the most influential woman in America.

__BREAST CANCER__ in 1988, she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. she underwent surgery for breast cancer.The cancer was in a very early form and the prognosis is for total recovery. "Sandra Day O'Connor"(right) today,she is living well, and she called the cancer a"stepping stone". She has retired, and the 2__nd__ most powerful woman in the U.S.

Refrences; UPI. (Photographer). (2005). //Supreme court justice o'connor resignes-supreme court justice sandra day o'connor resigned on july 1, 2005. she is shown in march 3, 2005 file photo at the swearing-in of michael chertoff as secretary of homeland security in washington. (upi photo/dennis brack/files)//. [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=imh&AN=imh250740&site=srck5-live Mark Wilson stitials. (2005). //Sandra day o'connor//. Retrieved from http://phoenix.about.com/cs/famous/a/oconnor.htm [|http://web.ebscohost.com/src/detail?vid=3&hid=25&sid=7f8a7f15-554f-4b4f-bfdc-97a4a75070a2%40sessionmgr10&bdata=JnNpdGU9c3JjLWxpdmU%3d#db=mih&AN=39025332]