The Department of Athletics is always looking for ways to promote the accomplishments of its former student-athletes and will be conducting a series of Alumni Spotlight's to highlight their professional accomplishments. If you have a success story you would like to share, please contact Assistant AD for External Relations Tim Lutz at tlutz1@aum.edu or at 334-244-3832. He can also be reached on Facebook or Twitter (@timlutz). We would love to hear from you and share your accomplishments.
 
Today's Alumni Spotlight features Michael Johnson, a two-time NAIA First-Team All-American and Scholar-Athlete. Johnson, who attended AUM from the fall of 2007 to the spring of 2010, was a member of the 2010 NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship team and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in business economics. While at AUM, he was a member of the University Honors Program.
 
Prior to joining the then-Senators, Johnson attended the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy in his hometown of Bradenton, Fla. He was a highly-decorated player on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior Circuit, earning a ranking of as high as No. 44 in singles competition.
 
Johnson redshirted during his first season on campus, but immediately made an impact on the tennis program during the fall of 2008. Teaming with Monte Tucker, Johnson won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Fall Small College National Championship and went on to win the ITA "Super Bowl" of Small College Tennis Doubles Championship. During the spring season, Johnson posted an 18-1 singles record while playing at the top two positions and a 21-2 doubles mark, playing primarily at the No. 1 position. He earned NAIA First-Team All-American and NAIA Scholar Athlete honors, earned All-Southern States Athletic Conference and league all-academic accolades, and was selected the Senators' representative on the Musco Lighting Champions of Character Team. AUM finished the season 20-3 record and fell in the National Championship Match to Fresno Pacific.
 
Johnson also enjoyed a stellar final season with the Senators, serving as a team captain on a squad that posted a 26-2 record and won the 2010 NAIA National Championship. He repeated as a NAIA First-Team All-American and All-SSAC selection, while he also earned NAIA Scholar Athlete and SSAC All-Academic team accolades. He posted a 15-3 singles record and a 17-6 doubles mark. Along with his successful spring season, Johnson partnered with Alberto Romea Gonzalez during the fall season to capture the 2010 ITA Fall Small College National Championship and the Fall Super Bowl Championship. Additionally, he was selected for the 2010 ITA South Region Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship award.
 
Following his graduation from AUM, Johnson moved to New Orleans and served as the graduate assistant coach with the women's tennis team at Tulane University, where he was reunited with former AUM graduate assistant Maru Brito, who was hired as the head coach of the Green Wave.
 
Johnson was accepted to Tulane Law School and began full-time in the fall of 2011, graduating with his J.D. in the spring of 2014. While in law school, he continued serving as a volunteer coach with the women's tennis program through the 2013 season. He also assisted NBA Retired Players Association members with various legal matters through Tulane Law School's sports law program, clerked at the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's office and a local business litigation law firm.
 
He went on and obtained his Louisiana law license and practiced at law firms specializing in litigation. In 2019, he started a solo law practice, where he primarily assists small businesses, construction companies, and individuals with business litigation and general counsel.
 
"I love the courtroom and drama of live hearings, testimony, and depositions," Johnson said. "My passion for competition and performance blossoms in this environment and I love what I do. I feel something close to the rush of collegiate competition."
 
In 2020, Johnson and his family moved to the suburbs of Milwaukee, Wis., where he continues to represent similar clients. He is married to Dr. Allyson Darga, a psychiatrist who completed her residency at Tulane Medical School this past summer. They met shortly after she graduated medical school in 2016 and married in 2018. The couple has a son, Michael (Trey) Johnson III, who was born in August 2019.
 
For more information on what Michael is doing and how AUM played a role in his professional success, please check out the Q&A below.
 
 
1. Where are you living now and what are you doing? Did you know you always wanted to do what you are doing professionally?
We recently moved from New Orleans, Louisiana, to the northern suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I now have a Wisconsin law license and continue representing the same type of clients, splitting my time between Wisconsin and Louisiana.
 
I enjoy the pressure, responsibility, and flexibility of operating a solo law practice. My parents have operated small businesses at times over the years, and it is no surprise to me that I was drawn to this type of practice and clientele. I was blessed with excellent mentoring during my first years of practice, which allowed me to develop the skills and experience to expand in this way.
 
I initially wanted to be a professional tennis player, but realized I was a little too slow and maybe better at school. During my time at AUM I met a couple local attorneys in Montgomery who I admired, and I developed the idea of trying for law school. My coach at AUM, Anuk Christiansz, pushed me and my teammates hard on our studies. "Take care of your books."  The message continues to ring in my head many years later.  
 
2. How did your time as a student and student-athlete at AUM prepare you for your career and life after college?
I received an exceptional education at AUM. I believe you get out of college what you put into it. If you apply yourself at AUM, you will undoubtedly be met with professors and students who will provide an exceptional place to learn and grow. AUM's School of Business provides many live presentation opportunities, which translated very well to moot court, oral advocacy, and confidence in performance aspects of law school and the practice of law. I felt more confident and ahead of my peers when public speaking and oral advocacy opportunities were presented. The quality of professors at AUM is exceptional.
 
Coach Christiansz changed the trajectory of my life. I came to AUM as a 20-year old who had barely studied for years, and left Magna Cum Laude and heading to a top 50 law school. His primary focus for the team was education and professionalism in everything we did. He trained character first and believed the tennis part would be better because of it. When I arrived on campus, I had to go to the library to hang out with my teammates… they were all studying. There was an expectation on the team that everyone would get A's, stay out of trouble, get academic scholarships, graduate at the top of the class, go to graduate school, and obtain respected internships and jobs. No other options were presented. Everyone fell in line. It is clear from the records and successes from AUM Tennis during that time that this environment was incredibly successful in sport and education. I took that same mentality to law school and the practice of law, and I feel it has served me well. 

3. What are your goals for the near future in regard to your career? Do you have a plan for the next 2-3 years?
I would like to continue to develop my business litigation practice, support my wife and her career as a psychiatrist, and spending time with my young and growing family. I would love to drop a few pounds and play more competitive tennis! 
 
4. When is the last time you've been to campus. How has the campus changed?
Sadly, I have been quite busy and have not been back in a few years. I need to make a trip to Montgomery.

5. What originally attracted you to AUM as a student-athlete?
It was the premier NAIA tennis program and had an unmatched reputation of academic and athletic success. I came to the university with a professional ranking and some success in the minors of professional tennis, but found I was getting waxed by the top guys on the team. We were really good. I developed a comfortable relationship with Coach Christiansz and Coach Kidd immediately, which made the transition much easier. They cared about me as a person first, and player second. I also appreciated the reputation of the School of Business and being in the south.

6. What are some of your most memorable moments from your time as a student-athlete at AUM?

- Our NAIA National Championship in 2010.Best. Feeling. Ever.
- Winning the doubles small college national championships with Monte Tucker in 2008, competing in the NCAA National Indoor Championships, and beating Georgia (a recent NCAA National Champion at the time) on center court.
- Winning the doubles small college national championship with Alberto Romea in 2009 and competing in the NCAA National Indoor Championships.
- Beating Harvard's entire team in January 2009 in Cambridge and freezing our butts off in the process.
- Home matches with my classmates, friends, and family cheering us on.
- Trying to disrupt the visiting team's free throw shooters during AUM home basketball games.
- Getting borderline too rowdy at AUM soccer matches.

7. How often do you keep in touch with your former teammates?
Coach Christiansz was ordained as a minister and officiated my wedding in 2018! We talk constantly. Monte Tucker was one of my groomsmen and continues to be my best friend. Babies and businesses make contact difficult, but we do what we can. I speak often with my former teammate Fred Viera, who lives near Milwaukee now. My assistant coach at AUM, Maria Brito, became the Head Women's Tennis Coach at Tulane in 2017. I was blessed to serve as her Volunteer Assistant Coach in 2018-2019 and to share many new memories working together and assisting her team. I am in occasional contact with many of my teammates, but I wish we were even more connected.
 
8. What are some things you enjoy doing in your free time?
Lately, I have been fishing walleye in northern Wisconsin and enjoy it. I love doing OrangeTheory with my wife and playing tennis with my friends. I need to clean up my golf game. I also love practicing law and happy to nerd out on interesting legal issues. More than anything, I love spending time with my wife and playing with my baby boy.
 
9. What advice would you have for the current student-athletes at AUM?
You have one shot. Take it. I recommend you consider apply yourself fully to sport and education for four years. You have plenty of time to explore other interests and hobbies, but a very short period to maximize your undergraduate education and play your sport competitively at the highest levels. I am happy to say that I can look back at my time at AUM and know that I gave it everything I had. I have no regrets and I cherish my memories.

10. Anything else you would like to share with the AUM community?
Thank you to my coaches, Monte, and my teammates for forever changing my life for the better. Thank you to AUM's professors for applying yourself to me and creating an amazing learning environment. I received an exceptional education that has served me well.