2 minute read
Ogonna Merritt
from Chieftain Fall 2008
by McMurry
Shaping the Legal Profession
Ogonna Merritt
2000 Graduate of McMurry with a Degree in English and Communication
during her time at McMurry as a member of the women’s basketball team, Ogonna Merritt spent many long hours on a bus. In order to keep up with her academic work, she often spent those long trips studying and writing papers. Little did she know that she would learn a valuable lesson that she utilizes to this day. she explains, “Because of the travel involved, it taught me how to manage my time. That is important in my job now because no matter how much I travel, I know how to properly schedule my time.” Instead of a bus, Ogonna now spends much of her time on an airplane traveling the country as an attorney for a national firm. she is an advocate for individuals filing for social security disability claims. While the mode of transportation has changed, Ogonna still utilizes her travel time to prepare for many cases at one time. Ogonna excelled both in the classroom and on the basketball court during her time on campus. she was a two-time All Conference selection and was named the American southwest Conference Athlete of the Year in 2000. Ogonna was also selected to the Academic All Conference Team in 2000. she received national recognition during her time at McMurry when she was named the Arthur Ashe Jr. All American sports scholar, which honors African American student athletes who maintain a 3.2 cumulative GPA or better and are active on their campuses and in their communities. As a double major in English and Communications, Ogonna credits former McMurry English Professor dr. Charles Etheridge as being an influential faculty member during her time as a student at McMurry. According to Ogonna, “He was always encouraging in the classroom, and while he was supportive of me being a student-athlete, he never allowed that to be an excuse for not being prepared for class.” she also believes that her education has prepared her well for her career as an attorney. “Being an English major taught me to carefully analyze texts and be deliberate about the material I was reading. That skill has served me well in the legal profession.” After graduating from McMurry in 2000, Ogonna worked for a year before attending Law school at the Thurgood Marshall school of Law at Texas southern University. While attending Texas southern, she recognized another important lesson from McMurry. “Because McMurry is a small school, it places you in situations where you communicate on a more personal basis.” she shared that rather than being a “number” at a large school, McMurry’s size gave her the opportunity to acquire better communication skills that she now utilizes on a day-to-day basis. “I believe that your experience at
