Alumni Spotlight: Myra L. McKenzie '02
Assistant General Counsel
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
“It endears you to a school when the people there make a special effort on your behalf, and that’s what tipped the scales in my decision to attend Notre Dame Law School,” says Myra McKenzie ’02. “[Assistant Director for Admissions] Heather Moriconi was very much involved in making sure that the transition to law school—and to South Bend from Atlanta—was a good one for me.”
McKenzie was raised in Louisiana and is a 1999 graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, ranked number one among the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). “When you attend an HBCU, one of the things you come to appreciate is the concept of a close-knit family. You have so much support, and you think there is nothing you can’t do,” says McKenzie. “Notre Dame is really the same way. It’s a very tight community where relationships are important, and while people come to Notre Dame with very different experiences, there is a common denominator: they’re all good people who support one another and want to change the world for the better.”
McKenzie knew by the time she was eight years old that she wanted to be a lawyer, and as she got older she determined that her goal was to improve working conditions for women and minorities. “Self-help is a great concept. If you’re looking to improve your own community, consider becoming an attorney,” advises McKenzie, who practices employment law for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. “I have always been interested in the welfare of minorities, especially Black Americans and women, and can help prevent injustices in the workplace by providing legal counsel to those who, in most instances, control whether labor and employment laws are broken,” she explains.
While at Notre Dame, McKenzie and her best friend Tamona Bright—now an Air Force Judge Advocate General stationed in Germany—made it to nationals for the American Bar Association Client Counseling Competition, which simulates a law office consultation in which law students, acting as attorneys, are presented with a client matter. They were a team for two years, and remain best friends to this day. McKenzie was also active in the Student Bar Association, served as a Notre Dame Legal Aid intern, and was an officer for three years in the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) at the Law School. Just this past spring, she received the Alumna of the Year Award from BLSA.
“If I had to do law school over again, I would absolutely choose Notre Dame. It was a home away from home.”
For more information about Ms. McKenzie, visit her Alumni Profile page.
