Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg received a hero’s welcome in Buffalo Monday.

A crowd of more than one thousand gathered to see Justice Ginsburg receive an honorary degree from the University at Buffalo. The afternoon was full of anecdotes, advice, and reflection.

“I think it’s important to realize that law is not some abstract exercise,” Ginsburg said during a brief question and answer portion of the event. “It affects real people and judges should be cognizant of how the law affects the people that law is meant to serve.”

Ginsburg took part in the Q and A with the law school’s dean.

A number of topics were discussed and Ginsburg appeared in high spirits throughout the event – even cracking a few jokes.

“I am now 86-year- old, yet people of all ages want to take their picture with me… amazing,” Ginsburg said with a wry smile.

 But the one thing that wasn’t discussed in detail: Ginsburg’s health. Monday’s ceremony came after the announcement last week from the Supreme Court that the 86-year-old had undergone cancer treatment again.

In her latest battle with the disease, Ginsburg underwent three weeks of radiation treatment for a malignant tumor on her pancreas.

Ginsburg is the court’s oldest member and a vocal member of the court’s bloc of four liberals to five conservatives.

If Ginsburg were to encounter a medical condition that warranted her stepping down from her lifetime appointment, President Donald Trump would almost certainly nominate another conservative justice to the bench, cementing the court’s slant for generations to come.

But for all the speculation regarding this justice, who’s achieved pop culture notoriety, RBG seemed to signal to the crowd she doesn’t plan on going anywhere any time soon, and that there’s still more work to be done.

“True, we have not reached nirvana. But the progress that we have seen in our lifetime makes me optimistic for the future,” Ginsburg said.