'An honor to say she represents us': Sandra Day O'Connor remembered by her namesake Phoenix-area schools

The students at Sandra Day O'Connor's namesake high school in north Phoenix remembered her legacy on Friday morning, in the wake of the Supreme Court justice's death.

Sandra Day O'Connor High School collectively mourned the Arizona icon, who instilled a sense of civic engagement that students and school officials said lives on within the campus community. As the first-ever woman to serve as Supreme Court justice, O'Connor's legacy was at the forefront of both students' and faculty members' minds, according to Principal Lynn Miller.

The school held a moment of silence when news of O'Connor's death made its way through campus.

"For us to have a namesake like hers that’s gritty, a female leader, someone who can collaborate with both sides, it's always an honor to say she represents us," Miller said.

The high school, which is located just off Interstate 17 and north of Happy Valley Road within the Deer Valley Union School District, was founded in 2002.

Miller recalled meeting O'Connor when he was then just a young assistant principal at the school.

"As an assistant principal taking care of her security, she did not want to have anything to deal with that. She was to the point of like, 'Hey, I can take of myself. I don't need a parking spot.' She was just a down-to-earth, great woman," Miller said.

Rick Weyker is a government teacher and the social studies department chair. He said he felt disbelief and a sadness when he learned of O'Connor's death during regular school hours.

"It was important in that moment I let the students know why the school is named after her," Weyker said. "Her legacy is empowerment, I mean it's just that simple."

Ariel Chiang, one of Weyker's students, recalled meeting O'Connor and feeling inspired.

Chiang said she owes her education to O'Connor: "I'm able to get the education I need to go to college," in part, thanks to O'Connor.

"I mean at this point it's like you're living history and it's pretty insane to think this is what will be in the history books," said Maya Bustos, an 11th grade student.

Bustos sat next to her classmate Ruth Mioc, a fellow 11th grader. Both students are up-and-coming leaders within their respective campus clubs and hope to create community for young women.

"One of the things we have here on campus is the Society of Female Scholars, which is modeled after her (O'Connor's) work in advocacy, especially for women empowerment," Bustos said.

The two students, both inspired by the strong impact O'Connor had on campus, feel strongly influenced to pursue a career in law after their high school years.

"Her being able to secure a place in the room for our demographic and people like us, it just opened a place at so many tables for us," Mioc said.

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For Weyker, O'Connor's legacy was marked with examples that proved hard work and dedication can overcome almost any obstacles.

"She became a lawyer at a time where virtually no women entered the legal profession. She literally had to work out of a closet at one point in her career," Weyker said.

Weyker believed that O'Connor's story provided exceptionally wise testimony in 2023 as much as it did in the 1980s when she became a Supreme Court justice.

"She was always trying to take a level-headed approach to the law, and I think that can kind of serve as an inspiration in these times," Weyker said.

Weyker recalled the times he personally met O'Connor during her several trips to the high school.

"I'll never forget her being at that table with a bunch of the kids from our school laughing, chatting, and she spent time talking with them, but she spent more time listening to them and hearing what they had to say," Weyker said.

"She really did actually care about education, and she put her time and money into that," he said.

Students Bustos and Mioc both recalled a recent lesson on their high school campus in which they were taught specifically to engage with the diverse communities in a way they thought O'Connor would have approved of.

Mioc wanted to use their engagement for her political beliefs and felt empowered by strong women like O'Connor who showed a proven example.

"I think when you're super young and you look at people you want to be, people like her or (Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg), they are great figures to follow on the same path they did," Mioc said.

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Jennifer Hoppes waited outside the school to pick up her son on Friday. The spirit of O'Connor's legacy was alive for students and faculty, alike, Hoppes said, and having O'Connor's namesake was an honor.

"We’re kind of proud of that name and the school. It’s a great school, we love it. Having her name associated with the school just brings it up to another level," Hoppes said.

"She was just such an integral part in our government and our society basically to have her name associated with our sons' schools means a lot to us."

Mesa elementary school principal honors O'Connor

Sandra Day O'Connor Elementary School officials were still hashing out plans on how the Mesa school would memorialize the school's namesake. The justice made a surprise visit to the school in the Mesa Unified School District before it welcomed its first students in 1986.

Susan Tinich, principal of Sandra Day O'Connor Elementary, lauded O'Connor as a trailblazer and historic U.S. and Arizona figure.

"The students and staff at O’Connor Elementary will continue to live and exemplify the values of Justice O’Connor daily," Tinich said in a statement.

"The school is exploring additional ways to memorialize Justice O’Connor on campus and will announce this soon. Thank you, Justice O’Connor, for the incredible legacy you left."

Republic reporter Perry Vandell contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix-area students, teachers react to Sandra Day O'Connor's death