By Michael Gresham
The Texas Catholic

When Jodie Orogun recited a list of the accolades she has received as well as the activities she has been involved in while at Bishop Lynch High School, she had to pause to take a breath.

Twice.

“There are quite a few,” said Orogun, who graduated May 19 from Bishop Lynch. 

Orogun was a four-year member of the Bishop Lynch Brigade, serving as the drill team’s Social Board Chaplain her senior year and earning numerous superlative awards as well as a Showtime International First Division Solo medal. She also served as president of the Bishop Lynch Ambassadors, vice-captain of the Frassati House, co-captain of the Interact Club, and secretary of the American Sign Language Club. She was a member of the Hope Squad, Black Student Alliance, Girls for Change, Women 4 Women, the Medical Honors Society, Science National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, National Honor Society, French National Honor Society, and Mu Alpha Theta (Math Honor Society). She performed with the Bishop Lynch Blackfriars in the musicals “Curtains!” and “Mean Girls.”   

Orogun earned the Rotary Youth Leadership Award, National African American Recognition Award for a high-ranking PSAT score, Bridges Senior Year Scholarship, and the gold level Presidential Award for completing more than 100 service hours. 

Outside of school, Orogun served as a teen ambassador for the Texas Advocacy Project, earned a certificate to fly drones through the Doug Woodham Dallas Junior Police Academy tactical aviation camp, performed as an ice skater for 16 years, and ran a charity with her younger brother Jamon for hospital patients.

Oh, and she also earned her associate’s degree in science from Dallas College through Bishop Lynch’s dual credit program.

“It was an amazing experience being able to walk the stage at Dallas College and receive my associate’s degree,” Orogun said. “I remember looking over the graduation program and seeing all the schools that were listed as part of the graduation ceremony. Mine was the only name listed under Bishop Lynch. I was so proud to represent my school.”

Extracurricular activities have long been a staple of Orogun’s life. As a kindergartener, she took a newfound skill and turned it into a way to help others.

“At that time, I learned to sew, and I just absolutely loved it. So, I was always making hand-sewn pillows,” said Orogun, adding that her mother Patience Orogun, a nurse, suggested she start sewing pillows for children at Scottish Rite Hospital. “Those patients needed pillows and just wanted some love, some comfort. So, we got my brother and my whole kindergarten class together, made and donated pillows.”

Orogun credits Jamon, now 13 and an incoming freshman at Bishop Lynch, for helping to make the Jodie & Jamon’s Pillow Foundation a reality.

“Two or three years after kindergarten, he reminded me of what we did and suggested we do it again,” Orogun said, adding that the brother-sister duo now sew and distribute pillows to a few different hospitals. “We just want the patients to know that someone who may not even know you personally still cares about you. I feel like they really need that sometimes.”

As a nurse and a mother, Patience Orogun said her children’s ministry made her heart swell with pride.

“You talk to your kids about a lot of things, and you hope some of it is heard,” she said. “I’m just so grateful to God that this is one of the lessons that stuck. Our younger generations are our leaders of tomorrow. So, I think one of my roles as a mother is to help shape the future by raising children who will have a positive impact on our society in that future.”

At St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School, Orogun was a spelling bee champion from sixth through eighth grade. She even qualified for the national competition her eighth-grade year but was unable to compete as it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It was at a diocesan spelling bee that Orogun as a middle-schooler first caught the eye of Bishop Lynch principal Chad Riley, who was serving as a judge at the event. Following the competition, Riley introduced himself to Orogun and her mother, telling them he believed she could thrive at Bishop Lynch as a high school student. 

“At the spelling bee, Jodie demonstrated a positive spirit, a willingness to work hard, and the confidence to allow herself to learn even in a challenging circumstance,” Riley recalled. “I saw these qualities in Jodie and knew then that she would thrive as a Friar.”

Orogun proved Riley correct.

“Jodie has taken advantage of almost every opportunity in front of her, both in school and outside of school, to discover and grow into the person God has called her to be,” Riley said. “She has gone the extra mile in a spirit of humility, love, and good humor. Her perseverance sets an example for her classmates and the light within her inspires others to live a life filled with joy and gratitude.”

In the fall, Orogun will attend the University of Texas at Arlington where she will follow in her mother’s footsteps and pursue a nursing degree.