While most young children are interested in games and activities, Nii-Amaa Ollennu found himself on the computer in his elementary school library looking up how to “sew” people.
UI Student Bar Association President Nii-Amaa Ollennu presides over the SBA office after a day of classes. Ollennu said he ran for the position because he wanted to give back to the university.
The word he was looking for was “sue.”
“Of course I eventually found out it’s not spelled that way,” Ollennu said. “I’ve actually wanted to be in law school since I was probably about four or five. I was one of those crazy elementary students who would go into the library and try to find anything about law that I could.”
Today, Ollennu finds himself at the University of Idaho College of Law as a third-year law student and president of the school’s student government, the Student Bar Association.
Although he grew up in Frisco, Texas, Ollennu said he was born in Pullman, and returned to the region to attend UI under unexpected circumstances.
“Honestly, when I initially turned in all of my application materials it wasn’t on the radar,” Ollennu said. “Then I was looking in my emails one day and saw a fee waiver from the University of Idaho and I said ‘Oh, I want to go up there so let’s just try it.’ I went up there, I applied and I waited quite some time before I got any word back — I think I was accepted four days before orientation started. But I’m so glad it worked out the way it did.”
He said he chose to come to UI to pursue a career in public service because Moscow is conducive to studying, the cost of education is affordable and it would be a relatively easy transition from living in Texas.
Throughout his tenure as a law student, Ollennu has participated in numerous activities and organizations, including the Multicultural Law Caucus, the Black Law Student Association and various intramural sports. He also served as the sergeant-at-arms for SBA last year, where his general duty was to maintain order and security for students within the college.
But Ollennu wasn’t always so involved and ambitious in the realm of academics. He said once he graduated high school and went to college it “didn’t work out so well,” and decided instead to work fulltime. It wasn’t until after his experience in the real world did he return to school to finish his Bachelors, get his Masters in public administration and continue on to law school.
“I’m really thankful for all of the struggles I had prior to starting school back up because it was those things that made me realize that the work I’m putting in now is worth it and the work I put in my first year was worth it,” he said.
In regard to his new leadership position with SBA, Ollennu said his main focus is improving the communication within the organization so it can extend into greater communication with law students, undergraduate students and the greater campus community.
He said former SBA president Ivar Gunderson set him up to be in a good place to better coordinate with the campus, because this year, the SBA was able to place an emphasis on getting more law students involved in the communication process.
“This year we’ve expanded some of the positions that we have,” he said. “We have a representative on the faculty senate, we also have appointed Mr. Chris Schrette to be our liaison with ASUI and we’re going to some more work, because when you can build that tight connection, that tight community, I feel that it enhances the overall environment.”
Ollennu said he was fortunate to have had the experience of working with the Canyon County Public Defender’s Office over the summer, and feels indebted to the university for helping him get there.
“I’m very grateful for everything this school has done for me and the experiences, and so I wanted to give back. I consider this basically a form of service, giving back to the community,” he said.
In the future, Ollennu said he plans to move back to Texas and look for work, or open up his own private practice and eventually wants to work his way into politics — maybe sooner than later.
“I want to go into government, and I’m kind of thinking of running for a House of Representatives position in the district my parents’ are in,” Ollennu said. “I would say that is on my radar in the next five years.”
Ollennuu said he will continue serving the community as SBA president and finish out his final year at UI College of Law, but won’t forget to relax and have fun — one could find him at Red Bento on a Friday night, possibly sporting his cowboy hat and boots.
“The beautiful thing that all law students do is stress and study, and stress some more,” he said. “You got to have the right mentality for it. I’m always telling people to smile, have fun because if you don’t enjoy it to some degree, it’s going to eat you alive.”
Amber Emery can be reached at [email protected]