When he was young, Aaron Rugh, ’94, knew he would graduate from Missouri State University — after all, two previous generations of his family had also graduated from the institution.

His parents, John Rugh, ’67, and Nancy (Bennett) Rugh, ’68 and ’90, attended MSU when it was called Southwest Missouri State College, and his grandmother, Marion-Lee Smith Bennett, attended when it was still a teacher’s college.

“As you can imagine, I have been a big Bears fan since I was little,” he said.

Rugh, a 1994 socio-political communication graduate and currently a commander in the United States Navy, serves in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps in Jacksonville, Fla.

In the JAG, Rugh is second in command of a unit that provides defense attorneys to sailors and Marines facing criminal charges at courts-martial.

He practices in the courtroom and also mentors new attorneys in their practice.

The desire to become a lawyer was instilled in Rugh at a fairly young age.

“I must have been fairly argumentative as a teenager,” Rugh said. “At one point a relative interrupted me and told me I should go to law school. That got
me thinking.”

After graduating from Missouri State, Rugh went on to law school at Duke University in Durham, N.C.

During this time, one of his close friends joined the U.S. Air Force JAG Corps. This sparked Rugh’s interest in serving in the United States Armed Forces. He decided the Navy would best suit his interest in litigation.

When he’s not practicing in locations like Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Rugh enjoys time with his dog, Pequod.

Rugh said his time at Missouri State helped him hone his ability to communicate legal, political and social advice to his eventual clients.

“My degree program prepared me for the multifaceted aspects of the legal practice,” Rugh said. “A good lawyer doesn’t just provide legal advice. He or she is a counselor and moral advisor. He must also be prepared to communicate.

“My professors and my courses gave me a strong base. As a result, I was a lot better prepared for the actual practice of law than I would have been.”