Ketanji Brown Jackson An Inspiration to UVI Students

There are heroines whose names and accomplishments are blazed across the face of the world. There are heroines who overcome all the odds to make their dreams come true. There are heroines who become an inspiration for all to follow. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has become the type of heroine who fulfills all of those roles.  

Justice Jackson has the distinction of being the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, and the first Federal Public Defender to sit on the Court, along with being the first Justice since Thurgood Marshall to represent criminal defendants. 

In 2021, President Joe Biden appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. On February 25, 2022, President Biden announced he was nominating Ms. Jackson to fill the Supreme Court seat left open by the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer. The U.S. Senate voted to confirm her on April 7, 2022. She was sworn in and became an Associate Justice on June 30, 2022, when Justice Breyer’s retirement went into effect.

The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) invited Supreme Court Justice The Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson to speak at the Spring 2025 Student Convocation, on February 7th and granted her an honorary degree as part of the University’s 63rd anniversary of its existence.        

The ceremony was held at the Eldridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center on UVI’s St.Thomas Orville E. Kean Campus and live streamed to a closed circuit feed in the Great Hall on the Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix. Security for the event was extremely tight as students, faculty, staff and administrators were invited to attend. A select number of media, including Yellow Cedar Media, were also invited to cover the event, with strict guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court Justice’s team, placed on all who were in attendance.

Pamela Moolenaar-Wirsiy PhD was the Mistress of Ceremony who welcomed the Supreme Court Justice. 

“This day is really for you,” Ms. Moolenaar-Wirsiy announced to the students during her welcoming address and opening remarks. 

UVI newly appointed President Safiya George introduced the Justice:

“We are blessed in being in the presence of one of the world’s most brilliant legal minds and the first Black woman on the Supreme Court,” Ms. George announced with a great deal of enthusiasm as the packed crowd stood and warmly applauded the presence of the Supreme Court Justice.

“I am extremely excited about today and tomorrow and tomorrow’s tomorrow.” President George went on. “We will chart a new course… Failure is not an option,” she declared to the students. “The world needs us to act differently, morally, and identify new ways to solve problems.”

The Washington, D.C. born lawyer and jurist flashed a bright smile as she took to the podium. Katanji Brown Jackson was raised in Miami, Florida and received her undergraduate and legal education at Harvard University, where she served as Editor of the Harvard Law Review, and clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer, whose seat she later assumed on the nation’s highest Court of Law.      

“I am humbled to be standing here before you today to receive this honorary degree…One of my greatest joys as a Supreme Court Justice is that I am sometimes invited to be with college students, which I love to do, and I feel a special affinity at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) because three of my immediate family and both of my parents and my only brother are proud graduates of HBCUs. And I can report that my mother is very excited that I am here with you today and so am I.”

The Supreme Court Justice went on to relate three stories that amounted to life lessons and played a great role in her development. In the first she spoke of proceeding to devote oneself to doing hard work.

“You should plan to work hard at anything you decide to do. Ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things. The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is hard work,” Justice Jackson told the audience.  “Anything worth having will take a great effort…You can create a brilliant future for yourself.”

The second story dealt with the importance of learning humility. 

“Never underestimate kindness. I’ve learned that successful people need others to support them…it’s how you treat others in both a personal and professional way that matters…It is easy to hurt other people unintentionally,” she said. “Choose kindness…Even in small everyday moments. Choose to be kind.”

The third story dealt with the future. 

“Face the future with unwavering confidence,” she said. “I faced many moments when standing up for what I believe in was quite daunting.”

She recalled one particular instance where she had to make a choice between standing up for what she believed and possibly compromising a chance to advance her career. 

“I always remember what President Obama said to me when he was appointing me as vice-chair to the U.S. Sentencing Commission: He told me he thought I would be an unwavering voice for justice and fairness.

“Sometimes you have to decide whether to sit quietly or stand up for what you know is right…Do the right thing and everything else will figure itself out,” 

Justice Jackson concluded by saying: “Work hard. Be kind. Proceed with boldness.”

There are heroines that set the stage for the future in leading others by example. There are heroines that point us towards the doors of greatness. There are heroines that inspire us to go on and make wonderful lives for ourselves. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has become the type of heroine who fulfills all of those roles.