Valley high-schoolers get career inspiration from Sebring native now on Ohio's top court

BOARDMAN

Justice Judith French of the Ohio Supreme Court used to be like the hundreds of students she addressed at Boardman High School.

Like them, she attended a public high school in this area (Sebring), she told students from Mahoning, Columbiana and Portage counties who packed the Boardman Performing Arts Center on Wednesday.

That similarity is one of the reasons she chose to visit the school, she said in an interview.

“On a personal level, maybe some of them will look at me and say, ‘She went to Sebring High School, and now she’s on the Ohio Supreme Court.’ Maybe they can see themselves in me,” she said.

Gov. John Kasich appointed Justice French to the court in 2013 to fill a vacancy. She was elected to a six-year term in 2014.

She spent an hour with students, briefing them on the state judicial system and answering questions. The students from 11 school districts who attended were selected by teachers and administrators based on their interest in government and the court system. Some, including 50 from Austintown, came to the event despite being on spring break this week.

Read more about her presentation in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.