The Honor Speakers series brings distinguished guests to address the student body in chapel. On Dec. 5. 2017, students heard from Georgia Supreme Court Justice Britt C. Grant. Justice Grant spoke on her personal journey and her work in each branch of the United States Government.

“I am so honored to be able to contribute to our state as a supreme court justice, and it’s also a lot of fun. It takes maybe an especially nerdy person to think it’s a lot of fun, but it is a lot of fun and I’ll be really incredibly privileged if I get the opportunity to keep doing this job,” Justice Grant said.

Justice Grant was appointed to the Supreme Court on Jan. 1.  2017; although, before her appointment, she worked in Nathan Deal’s office in Congress and under President George W. Bush in the White House. Darlington has many students who are interested in getting involved in their local and federal governments, and Justice Grant proved to be an educational and motivational resource for those students.

“You don’t have to be governor on the first round. Figure out what issues are important to you in your local community, figure out who’s working on those issues and just say ‘how can I help.’ See what you can do to contribute. You’d be really surprised on how much you learn and the really great people you’ll meet. I couldn’t have written my exact script of how things were gonna go, I just knew I wanted to do a good job of what I did and see what happened after that,” Justice Grant said.

However, Justice Grant’s journey to prominence and success has not always been an easy one, but her challenges along the way motivated her to continue striving for her goals and serve the public.

“One experience that kinda made me put my chin up and fight is I was in a very bad accident after I graduated college and at first they thought that I wouldn’t survive and they thought that I would be paralyzed for a long time,” Justice Grant said. “That summer I was at the Shepard Center for outpatient facility and I spent that summer really not wanting to be underestimated and I think that that experience really made me thankful of all the opportunities that I have.”

As a Georgia Supreme Court Justice, Justice Grant must hold true to the constitution in her decision making and refrain from bias; similarly, she encourages this in the daily lives of those who strive to involve themselves with politics.

“Make sure you remember that there are people of good will on both sides. You can be 100 percent right on an issue, but that doesn’t mean that everyone who thinks something else is evil or bad. They just think something else. I think that civility and collegiality is so important,” Justice Grant said.  

Justice Grant provided a unique perspective of honor, and the role it plays in her work as a Georgia Supreme Court Justice.

“I think understanding the part you play in our constitutional democracy is important, and I think it takes honor to remain within that role and to not stretch your elbows out further than they ought to go and interfere in someone else’s territory,” Justice Grant said.

*Photo Credit: Ruth Anne Anderson