When Christine Arguello was a little girl, she never expected to become a United States District Court Judge. Instead she kept her focus on earning the best grades possible in order to reach her goal of becoming a lawyer, proving those around her that a Hispanic girl from a small town could indeed be a force in the courtroom, in front of the gavel and later behind it.

“I’ve always wanted to do challenging things in my life and try out different jobs,” she said. “And as a judge, that was definitely challenging and learned I could also do a good job at it.”

Because of the outstanding contributions Arguello has made in her life, including becoming the first Hispanic to be appointed to a Federal District Court and becoming the first Hispanic Chief Deputy Attorney General for Colorado, Arguello was inducted in the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame on March 20. She is among nine other women to receive the honor that recognizes women in Colorado who have made significant and enduring contributions to their fields of endeavor, elevated the status of women, helped open new frontiers for women and for society and inspired others by example.

“I was thrilled to hear the news of the induction and very surprised,” Arguello said. “I never thought as a little girl that I would ever be receiving such a high honor and also be part of Colorado’s history.”

Working as a United States District Court Judge keeps Arguello pretty occupied, but there’s one part of her job she’s truly passionate about: her Dream Team, which is a group of attorneys, students and other legal professionals headed by Arguello, that volunteers in pipeline community projects geared toward encouraging youth from diverse and historically-underrepresented backgrounds to consider a career in law.

Arguello said the Dream Team meets with students to motivate and inspire them to go to college, graduate school and later law school through their personal stories. When Arguello shares her story, she makes sure to remind students to dream big and remember that hard works goes a long way.

“I didn’t have money to go to college, but I worked really hard and always kept in mind the dream I had of becoming a lawyer,” she said. “I’ve always had the mentality that whatever job you have, you do it to the best of your ability, no matter what the job is. Put in 100 percent always do your best, that’s my message to students.”