Crossing the Finish Line – Journey to Commencement

Two degrees over six years prepares Orianna Shaw for her next race.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from the University of Mississippi in 2021, Orianna Shaw’s path continued at Ole Miss, where she will graduate with a master’s in athletic training from the School of Applied Sciences in May.

Several factors underlie her goals and academic pursuits, including a strong desire to overcome challenges from her childhood.

“I think that growing up in a tough environment exposed me to a life of struggle at a young age,” Shaw said. “I did not have a lot growing up, so I always knew I would have to work harder and possess a lot of determination to get where I wanted to be in life.

“Having two little sisters has always motivated me to be a role model to them and showing them the value of never giving up; that the circumstances that you’re given when you’re young aren’t the things that define you when you get older.”

Growing up less than 20 minutes from Oxford in the small town of Taylor, Shaw was very familiar with the university. She is one of four daughters, and, like many others from surrounding areas, she has family ties to Ole Miss.

“When I graduated high school, I was not ready to leave home, and I was fortunate enough to be able to attend Ole Miss and continue my track career here as well,” said Shaw, who was a sprinter on the Ole Miss track and field team during her undergraduate years.

Shaw’s ties to the university run through her mother, aunt and grandmother who attended the university. Growing up, she was aware of an especially difficult and emotionally charged connection to the university through her grandmother, Henrieese Roberts, one the Ole Miss Eight who was expelled in 1970 after participating in the “Fulton Chapel Protest.” A traumatic experience for Shaw’s grandmother, she was not one to speak about what had happened, but her struggles were always something of which Shaw was aware.

“I was definitely told my grandmother was one of the first Black people to come to Ole Miss,” Shaw said. “While it was not one of the main decisions that influenced me, it was something that I always kept in the back of my mind.”

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