With the retirement of former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, President Biden has nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to take his position. What sticks out most about Jackson aside from her being the first black woman to sit on the Supreme Court, is the story behind how she achieved such an accomplishment.

She grew up in Miami, Florida, living a normal life and attending public school. When Jackson was a toddler, her father abandoned his previous job as a high school teacher in favor of attending law school, contributing to her love of the law that blossomed at a young age. In a recent speech, Jackson reminisces about her childhood sitting at home alongside her father while he was doing his law school homework. He taught her lots of valuable things which she carries onto her occupation to this day. Her parents, after living through hardships attending segregated schools, encouraged her to strive for more. Consequently, she was raised to be a high achiever and found solace in student government and speech and debate clubs in high school. According to junior Vivian Nguyen, “She knew what she wanted to do from such a young age. It’s inspiring that she went from leading the student government to the actual government.” However, her journey to reaching the highest court in the country was not an easy one. Being a woman of color, she faced lots of difficulties. When she told her school counselor she wanted to study at Harvard, she was advised to not aim so high. However, that did nothing to stop Jackson, and she ended up attending Harvard Law School and working her way up the ranks as a judge.

Many Americans are overjoyed by her nomination, one being junior AJ Rubel who includes, “I am personally excited for the nomination since Jackson is the first woman of color to serve on the Supreme Court which is a big deal. She will better represent people of color in the Supreme Court and help reinterpret the laws in this country to help achieve a true 100% equality under the law regardless of race, religion, or gender identity.” Her gender and race, once seen as inferior traits that kept people from getting jobs, no longer matter. Jackson now stands in one of the nation’s most powerful occupations, proving all those who doubted her wrong and acting as inspiration for younger generations. Aside from the countless qualifications that make her a more than worthy candidate, she is also breaking barriers. It is safe to say her nomination alone was groundbreaking and she will continue to do good for this country throughout her service.