The first Latina on the U.S. Supreme Court will be awarded the 2015 Katharine Hepburn Medal, a prize for women who have made efforts to change the world.

The Katharine Hepburn Medal will be presented at Bryn Mawr College to Sotomayor for being a woman whose "lives, work, and contributions embody the intelligence, drive, and independence of the four-time Oscar winner and her namesake mother, an early feminist activist." The award is named after actress Katharine Hepburn, graduate of Bryn Mawr College, class of 1928, a women's liberal arts college in Pennsylvania.

"As the first Hispanic and third female Supreme Court justice, Justice Sotomayor is truly a trailblazer," said Bryn Mawr College President Kim Cassidy in a statement. "Her twenty-year commitment to the federal judiciary reveals her unwavering commitment both to public service and the importance of the legal system in our society and exemplifies the attributes deserving of the Hepburn Medal."

The college noted that Katharine Hepburn Medal recipients are judged by their commitment and contributions in both civic engagement and the arts, which are two "greatest passions" of the Academy Award-winning actress.

"Equally important, Justice Sotomayor's many opinions from the bench, whether in the majority or expressing critical interests from a dissent, exhibit wisdom, an unflinching commitment to justice, and a fundamental dedication to real equality in our diverse society. In these and other ways, Justice Sotomayor truly embodies the Hepburn spirit," added Cassidy.

Sotomayor's legal career spans several decades, including her years as assistant district attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office between 1979 and 1984. She was nominated by former President George H.W. Bush to the U.S. District Court for New York's Southern District in 1991 and served in the role from 1992 to 1998. From 1998 to 2009, Sotomayor was a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Sotomayor, a native of the Bronx, has been a Supreme Court justice since Aug. 8, 2009. President Barack Obama nominated her for the highest court in the U.S. in May 2009.

Sotomayor is scheduled to receive the award during the college's gala event on April 17, 2015. Sotomayor has been awarded the Hispanic National Bar Association's Latina of the Year, Judiciary Board in 2005. She's also on the Urban Health Plan Wall of Fame in the Bronx for her service in the judicial system.

Fittingly, the award will be presented at the college's Katharine Houghton Hepburn Center, which honors the actress and her mother with programs and features focused on the arts, civic engagement and theater. Previous recipients of the Katharine Hepburn Medal include actresses Blythe Danner and Lauren Bacall and musician Patti Smith.