Inspired by pioneers, new judge to become one Mimi Wright, to become Ramsey County's first black, female judge, credits her role models.: [METRO Edition]

Education has always been a driving force for Mimi Wright, Ramsey County's newest judge.

Her parents, educators who are now retired, set high standards for both of their children. Her high-achieving older brother, an investment banker whose path she followed to Yale University, also set a sterling example: "If Billy could do it, so could I," she said.

And as a young lawyer, Wright fought to provide equal access to education for minority students in the South.

On Nov. 2, Wright, 36, will be sworn in as the first black, female judge in the county's history and assigned to hear criminal cases. This week she is unpacking her books and files in her new 10th-floor chambers in St. Paul's City Hall/Courthouse.

She gives some of the credit for her meteoric rise in the legal system to the role models she had when she was young: civil-rights pioneer Rosa Parks and the late Texas Congresswoman Barbara Jordan.

"Growing up, I was able to look at people who had achieved great things and try to envision what it would be like for me to do the same thing," Wright said.

Now that she has achieved her longtime dream of becoming a judge, she hopes young people can learn about the values of hard work and perseverance from her example.

"I gained inspiration from others, from the diligence, hard work and challenge that comes from that kind of achievement. And I hope that youth will look at me, not putting me on a pedestal, but seeing that my accomplishments are something they can strive for," she said. "I want to inspire them to pursue their dreams, not necessarily to become a judge or a lawyer, but to figure out what their goals are and work hard to meet them."

Wright was born and grew up in Norfolk, Va....