Liberty Law graduate will use faith and her difficult past to protect younger generation of clients in crisis

Growing up in a household marred by divorce, poverty, and abuse, recent Liberty University School of Law graduate Autumn Johnson told herself from an early age: “This cycle ends with me.”

Following a collective six-year journey through Liberty University’s undergraduate and graduate programs, Johnson graduated this month with both a Juris Doctorate and Master of Arts in History, and now plans to make a difference as an attorney in the lives of children experiencing the same issues she once had to endure.

“Abuse ingrained itself into my childhood in so many forms,” Johnson said. “My parents had a very messy separation when I was 8 years old and I was in court a lot. I knew that (attorneys) were highly intelligent people who had a lot of power to do good. I decided I wanted to be a lawyer before I knew all that that entailed because I wanted to make a difference for kids like me.”

Upon visiting Liberty Law, Johnson said she was immediately drawn in by the Christian worldview through which law was taught, and she saw the small class sizes and high bar exam passage rate among graduates as signs that Liberty was the place for her.

After finishing her undergraduate history degree in three years, Johnson enrolled in a three-year dual degree program in which she was able to pursue her Juris Doctorate and Master’s in History simultaneously.

Johnson was involved with Liberty Law’s pro-life efforts as the vice president of Law Students for Life in her second year, and she worked with BlazeTV as a writer and social media editor. She was also invited to speak as part of a panel at CPAC 2019 when it was hosted by Liberty.

“I’ve been really blessed during my time at Liberty,” Johnson said. “I’ve had opportunities, relationships, and experiences that I will carry with me all throughout my life. I met my husband here, I spoke at CPAC here, and I’ve had the opportunity to meet amazing world leaders like Nikki Haley.”

She calls Haley, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, a hero of hers. She met her when Haley spoke in Convocation in November.

But Haley is also a fan of Johnson. Haley was one of 4,000 people to write a congratulatory reply to Johnson’s recent tweet, which featured a photo of herself in cap and gown with the words: “I am a survivor of child abuse and extreme poverty. I came from nothing and worked for everything. Today, I am Autumn Johnson, Juris Doctor.”

The tweet, posted on May 9, the original date planned for Liberty’s graduation, gained over 85,000 likes and 6,800 retweets, with replies from the likes of Senator Ted Cruz, Fox News and Liberty alumna Shannon Bream, news personality Megyn Kelly, and countless others.

Autumn said she received messages like “You are a true role model” or “I want my daughter to be like you.” She said she was humbled by the replies, but said she wants to simply use her experiences to serve God and her clients.

“I just see myself as someone who had a really tough beginning, but I know the Lord can use that for good,” Johnson said. “My childhood is just a small part of who I am as a person. For me, I just had to take what God had given me and make my life my own.”

Looking toward the future, Johnson is pursuing a job in Virginia in family law or criminal law, a field in which she would be able to use personal experiences from her upbringing and Christian faith to inform her work for clients in crisis situations.

“Because of my background, I have firsthand experience that will be helpful when dealing with clients in crisis,” she said. “There are also a lot of kids hurting in the system and they need an advocate who cares about them. I see a great need for Christian lawyers in the field, and I hope to use my God-given talents to help as many people as I can while I am here on Earth.”

“I want people to know that a bad situation does not define you,” she added. “God is good and His plans are always so much better than our own.”