AZ Teen Youth Summit - September 2009

On September 11, 2009, hundreds of high school participants in the AZ Teen Court program, as well as some middle school mentees of that program, gathered at the Memorial Union at ASU for a full day of activities in a Teen Youth Summit. Lydia Montelongo, who helps to coordinate the HNBA mentoring progam in Phoenix, was instrumental in helping the Youth Summit Committee plan their activities at ASU.

The day began with a splendid presentation by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, followed by questions put to her by students, which prompted insightful answers for Justice O'Connor.Her topics ranged from

• her youth on an Arizona ranch,
• her professional journey to appointment to U.S. Supreme Court Justice (even though no law firm would hire her after she graduated from law school because of her gender),
• a wonderfully accessible description of the S. Ct.'s decision in the "snail darter" case, and
• Our Courts, her web-based teaching tool on civics for middle school classes, http://www.ourcourts.org/