It's not often that a Supreme Court clerk makes headlines, but in October 2020, that's exactly what happened.

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Feinstein, and members of the committee.

One of Amy Coney-Barritt's former law students who is now sharing her personal and powerful perspective about the judge everyone is talking about.

My name is Laura Wolk, and I am a former student and mentee of Judge Amy Coney-Barritt.

In part because of her unwavering support, I am the first blind woman to serve as a law clerk

on the Supreme Court of the United States.

That was yesterday, Laura Wulk, sharing a powerful story about her mentor, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, before the

Senate Judiciary Committee.

She has given me a gift of a measurable value, the ability to live an abundant life with

the potential to break down barriers so that I can leave this world a better place than I

found it.

In law school at Notre Dame, Walk took classes from then-professor Amy Coney-Barritt,

civil procedure and statutory interpretation.

Both came in especially handy in 2019 when Walk landed a clerkship with Justice Clarence Thomas at the Supreme Court.

Wolk says, like most institutions, the court experienced growing pains as it learned to interact with her and her specific disability.

But the court was committed so that Walk and future law clerks could do the job.

The court was amazing. It's hard to articulate, but if you've ever been in a position like this,

you know the difference between people who are doing things because they have to. It's their

job and people who want to and they believe in it. And every single person at the court that I interacted with was very firmly in that camp.

They just told me over and over again, like, we know, like, this is a great opportunity for all of us to grow.

It was really a testament, I think, to just the broader court in general about how willing everyone was to help me and pitch in.

While Laura Wolk's story is unique, she isn't alone.

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