Attorney, judge, pastor, writer.

Mamie Bush Johnson has done all these things, and more, since she was Student Congress president in 1984-85.

She received her bachelor’s degree in 1985 and went on to earn her law degree from Texas Southern University. After working as an attorney, she served as a municipal court judge from 1990-93 and Tarrant County criminal court judge from 1994-97.

She was involved in missionary work while on the bench and, in 1999, became the full-time minister at Rising Star Baptist Church in Fort Worth.

“I feel that my background as an attorney and as a minister intertwine because it gives me a lot of opportunity to witness and to tell people that it’s not too late to get their life in order,” she said.

Johnson is now working as a criminal defense attorney while still serving part time in the ministry. She also has written a book, Spiritual Abortion: The Result of Abandoning God’s Call.

“I’m contemplating running for judge again,” she added. “I’m waiting for Democrats to start winning again in Tarrant County.”

She was named an Outstanding African American Alumna in 1995, and a year later her name was inscribed in the UT Arlington Walk of Fame in Centennial Plaza outside College Hall.

— Jim Patterson