Will The Next Supreme Court Justice Be White? Sonia Sotomayor Advocates For Diversity Ahead Of Trump's Announcement

As President Donald Trump prepared this week to announce his pick for the United States Supreme Court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor spoke to college students about education, diversity and voting. Sotomayor joined Justice Susanne Baer, of Germany's Federal Constitutional Court, Monday at the University of Michigan for a bicentennial celebration event, the Associated Press reported.

Sotomayor talked about the importance of growth, equality and listening in the university community and beyond, according to tweets from the event.

"You can't improve the world you are in unless you understand how it functions," Sotomayor said, encouraging attendees to keep themselves informed about the Constitution and world news. She later suggested a life experience: "Sit next to someone that you don't know and looks different than you do — and talk to them."

Sotomayor's comments came about a year after the sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia — and days before the reveal of his replacement. Trump tweeted that he planned to announce his decision on who to nominate to the Supreme Court Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST. Names floated included Thomas Hardiman, a federal judge on the court of appeals for the third circuit in Philadelphia, and Neil Gorsuch, a circuit judge with the court of appeals for the 10th circuit in Denver.

Whoever ends up on the bench can likely expect to debate with Sotomayor, who Monday extolled the virtues of discussion and compromise with her fellow justices, the Michigan Daily reported.

"As judges, I think we are often put in a situation where we’re forced into community," Sotomayor said. "We … have to decide some of the most complex questions that this society is facing and in America, we can dissent and we can disagree, but we have to reach a decision."

Last week, Sotomayor, who was nominated to the high court by then-President Barack Obama in 2009, told Arizona State University students earlier she wanted to see more diversity within the Supreme Court. As the first Hispanic justice, she wanted to see more criminal defense attorneys, civil rights lawyers or environmental law experts join the force, according to a university news release recapping the event.

She also wanted to see Trump's nominee's confirmation hearing center around his or her character.

"Do they treat others with respect and dignity? Find out whether they have ruled in ways in which they expressed a difference with their personal feelings, because a judge who can’t point to a decision that’s different from how they personally feel is not a judge who’s following the rule of law," Sotomayor said.

Sotomayor was set to speak on campus again at 5:30 p.m. local time, according to MLive.com.