It has been a rewarding year for US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, that's why it's fitting that the Bronx native will bid farewell to 2013 and ring in 2014 by leading the 60-second countdown at the New Year's Eve gala in Times Square. 

Organizers announced on Sunday that the political trailblazer will get to push the button that commences the ceremonial ball drop, the New York Post reports.

"She is an inspiration to New Yorkers everywhere, and we can't wait to have her join us," the Times Square District Management Association announced on Facebook on its Times Square NYC page.

One of the highlights of 2013 for the 59-year-old US Supreme Court Justice was receiving the W.E.B. DuBois Award, Harvard University's highest honor in the field of African and African-American studies.

The Hutchins Center for African and African-American Research, which presents the medals, credited Sotomayor with being the first Latina to serve on the high court and for speaking frequently of her upbringing, helping to influence and inspire children trying to succeed in the face of adversity.

"I try to remember that paying forward is an obligation that I must not only undertake but that gives meaning to all our lives," Sotomayor said during her acceptance.

Sotomayor's parents came to New York from Puerto Rico during World War II. Her father worked in a factory and didn't speak English.

Born in the Bronx, N.Y., Sotomayor grew up in a public housing project, not too far from the stadium of her favorite team -- the New York Yankees. Her father died when she was 9, leaving her mother to raise her and her younger brother on her own.

Her mother, whom Sotomayor describes as her biggest inspiration, worked six days a week to care for her and her younger brother and instilled in them the value of an education.

She later graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University and went on to attend Yale law school, where she was editor of the Yale Law Journal.

In her three-decade career, she has worked at nearly every level of the judicial system. She became President Obama's pick to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court in 2009.

Sotomayor joins other politicians who have taken part in the New Year's Eve tradition. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell led the ball drop in 2004 and Bill and Hillary Clinton assumed the role in 2008, according to Politico.

Regular attendee Mayor Michael Bloomberg will not be present at this year's ball drop, Reuters adds. Instead, the outgoing mayor, who led last year's celebrations with The Rockettes, will be celebrating privately with family and friends.

As Sotomayor gears up for her part in the celebration, the Big Apple is prepping and upping the ante on security for the legendary Times Square festivities, which will draw hundreds of thousands of native New Yorkers and tourists from around the world.

Confetti is a major part of the New Year's celebration -- one ton of it to be exact, therefore a traditional "confetti test" was conducted on Sunday to make sure "the party paper's air-worthiness" was up to par.

Ryan Seacrest will host the year's biggest celebration at "the crossroads of the world" in Times Square along with Jenny McCarthy (ABC's The View), while Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas will return to host the west coast party on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2014, on Tuesday, Dec. 31 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on ABC. Performances will continue from 11:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.

This year's line-up includes: Blondie, Icona Pop, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Miley Cyrus, who will perform in New York; Capital Cities, Daughtry, Jason Derulo, Fall Out Boy, Florida Georgia Line, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Enrique Iglesias, Robin Thicke, Enrique Iglesias and the Fray will perform in Los Angeles; and part of Pitbull's performance at the American Airlines Arena in Miami will also be broadcast live for the show.

Organizers anticipate the New Year's Eve crowds to start coming into Times Square at 3 p.m. and will then be directed into viewing sections by police.

The festivities officially kick off at 6 p.m., when the New Year's Eve Ball is hoisted above Times Square -- and party-goers anxiously await for it to dazzle and bring its magic at midnight.