PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — You might be surprised to know that becoming a judge was never really a dream for Patrice Moore. Growing up, she wanted to be an electrical engineer, but that soon changed once she fell in love with the law.

“I am grateful," Judge Moore said. “I am thankful and I realize this is a privilege and I probably wouldn't trade it for the world. Well, some days I would," she joked.

Judge Moore has sat on the bench in the Sixth Judicial Court for the last 12 years overseeing child custody, juvenile delinquency and divorce cases in Unified Family Court. 

“It is not easy, but you can change a lot of lives," she said.

Judge Moore believes a part of that change is changing the faces of people who sit on the bench. She says seeing Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson nominated to the Supreme Court plays a big part in that change. 

“With her nomination we've come one step closer to having the Supreme Court that reflects a population of America that's not reflected now in the justices," she said.

Overseeing and making judgments that affect people's lives is an awesome responsibility, Judge Moore explained, and the more diverse the judges are who make those decisions, the closer she believes our country comes to being a more perfect union. 

“I just think that we need to be well represented because I think—historically speaking—lawyers have been men, judges were men and then women are coming into their own and so I just want to keep that going and I want to encourage everyone to dare to dream.”