Northwestern Oklahoma State University alumna Judith Ridgeway will deliver the commencement address at her alma mater during the University’s fall commencement ceremony on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 2:30 p.m. in Percefull Fieldhouse.
Ridgeway’s history with Northwestern began at an early age. Born in Missouri, she moved in with her aunt Aurice Huguley at a young age. Huguley worked at the university for 43 years before retiring as a finance officer in 1983.
“One of my favorite memories is getting to play in the supply room because my aunt was the comptroller,” Ridgeway said. “All the paper and pencils in the world were in that supply room. Pads of colored paper had Northwestern Paper Company on it so I thought Northwestern was world-wide.”
Ridgeway graduated from Northwestern with two Bachelor of Science degrees in psychology and sociology in 1970. As a student, she sang with the campus singers and enjoyed campus walks with professor of botany Dr. Anna Fisher or learning about Shakespeare and London from passionate professor of English Dr. Julia Sparger.
Upon graduation from Northwestern, Ridgeway earned a Juris Doctorate in Law from the University of Oklahoma in 1975 and began her 40-year career as an attorney. She is licensed in the Oklahoma District Courts, Absentee Shawnee Court, Pottowatomie Court, Western District of Oklahoma Federal Courts and the United States Supreme Court.
Ridgeway uses her decades of private practice law experience in criminal, bankruptcy, divorces, child custody, and family dispute cases in lectures on how to stay married, children’s rights, family disputes, conflict management, open adoption, life after divorce, addiction and the family and personality profiling. She also taught classes and hosted lectures at the University of Oklahoma from 1993 to 2005.
Ridgeway retired as an attorney in 2011, but did not slow down. She continued in her various roles with the Indian Hills Restaurant and Steakhouse in Norman, where she started as an owner and operator in 1983. She lived in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 2011 until 2016, and keeps busy with her hobbies of chainsawing and raising ducks and horses. She loves to share her passion for animals with others, teaching alongside Children Living Best Through Horses until 2010.
A pillar of the Little Axe community, Ridgeway’s other volunteer work includes being active with 12-step programs for alcohol and substance abuse since 1980 and a board member for the Virtue Center, formerly the Norman Alcohol Information and Recovery Center, for 20 years. She has also served as Norman’s local AARP tax aide coordinator since 2020 and initiated the Little Axe Chamber of Commerce and local “trash-off.”
A livestream link for the commencement exercises can be found at www.YouTube.com/NWOSURangers.
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CONTACT FOR RELEASE:
Sean J. Doherty, University Relations Specialist
sjdoherty@nwosu.edu | 580-327-8480