<P>From an early age, Sandra Day O'Connor challenged the traditional gender role assigned to women. Growing up on the Lazy B Ranch in the Southwest, she could mend a fence, ride a horse, shoot a rifle, and drive a tractor by the time she was eight years old. Though in the top 10 of her Stanford Law class--and only one of five women--O'Connor was unable to find a position at any law firm because of her sex. Undeterred, she opened her own law practice. After entering politics, she was the first female majority leader in the Arizona State Senate before becoming a justice on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In 1981, she ascended to the U.S. Supreme Court as the first female associate justice, appointed by President Ronald Reagan. Sandra Day O'Connor: U.S. Supreme Court Justice examines her life and the decisions she made while serving on the nation's highest court.