Annette Addo-Yobo made her way to law school via an unlikely route – being crowned Miss Texas 2024.
In many ways Annette Addo-Yobo is an average law student.
She attends class from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every weekday. There are tables at certain coffee shops she’s claimed as her “usual spot.” She contributes to a law journal.
But peeling back the layers to her story, there is nothing average about how she got to Texas Tech University’s School of Law.
If you visit her Instagram, you’ll see glamorous headshots of the law student adorned with evening gowns and diamond necklaces. You’ll notice an image of a fierce and determined young woman fixing a crown atop her head. You’ll see her posing on magazine covers.
One could quickly assume she’s lived an easy life – recently sweetened by winning Miss Texas 2024.
And while parts of Annette’s life certainly have been sweet, little of it came easy. She developed a dogged determination early in life as a caretaker of a sibling with autism spectrum disorder. Annette stepped up again when Lewy Body Dementia seized her mother too early.
Annette remembers her mother as someone who loved helping others, who had tremendous love for her family and never gave up when life dealt a harsh hand.
It’s this same drive to make others’ lives better that pushes Annette.
Self-Made
Life thrusted responsibility onto Annette early on. Her family moved from Ghana to the U.S. to Canada and eventually back to the U.S. to settle in Texas all before she turned 12. This made friendships hard to keep. Luckily, Annette became an older sister and had built in friends.
Her brother Andrew came first.
For a while, everything seemed normal. But as certain milestones arrived and Andrew didn’t respond the way doctors hoped, he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, an extreme case in which he was nonverbal. While this was a crushing diagnosis, Annette was young enough that she knew nothing different. Out of everyone in the family, she thrived at “speaking Andrew.”
“I knew how to tell if he was making a joke or if he was upset or hungry or thirsty,” Annette says.
She naturally fell into the role of advocate.
Then Adelia, her younger sister, arrived. While Adelia has gone on to thrive, she had a major speech delay early in life and didn’t begin talking until she was 5.
While her parents were hands on with all their children, Annette couldn’t help but assume the role of caretaker with her siblings. From making sure they were safe at school to learning to read behavioral cues, helping Andrew and Adelia brought Annette a genuine sense of joy.
But in 2015, her role as caretaker expanded with no warning.
The family was on vacation when Annette’s mother began experiencing abnormal tingling in her hands and feet. She struggled through the trip, attempting to stay present despite splitting headaches. The family assumed it was just jetlag. But the symptoms only intensified upon returning home to Dallas. Headaches grew to hallucinations, then to heart conditions, and ultimately, the loss of basic functions.
“No one could figure out what was happening to her,” Annette says.
She visited doctor after doctor; Annette’s father went as far as traveling to England to obtain medication that might help. Nothing soothed her symptoms.
In 2021, her mother passed away. The family finally received answers – it had been Lewy Body Dementia, a diagnosis only discoverable postmortem.
“Prior to her terminal illness, she loved her job as a teacher, taking walks in the neighborhood and cooking,” Annette says. “At her core, she enjoyed serving others.”
Miss Texas
When Annette began college at the University of Texas at Dallas, she pursued an education in psychology and child learning and development. This was a natural extension of her passions. She had chosen UT-Dallas to stay close when her mother was ill. But since her mother’s passing and her father getting more help with Andrew, Annette finally felt she could focus on her future.
She enrolled at Sam Houston State University to study clinical psychology.
“I worked with at-risk youth potentially facing incarceration,” she explains. “I screened for intellectual disabilities to inform legal representation. This helped attorneys know whether treatment or incarceration was the appropriate path for the defendant.”
While fulfilling, the work was draining. Annette cried every evening when she got home.
“I was too emotionally invested in the work,” she says.
Annette transitioned away from clinical work and pursued a Master of Business Administration at Lamar University. This prepared her for a position with the Dallas Regional Chamber which immediately was a better fit.
“I hated clinical research,” she admits with a laugh. “It taught me skills about research and writing that I’m finding valuable now. But as much as I found science intriguing, it just wasn’t the career for me.”
Annette observed several business models while sitting in on meetings during her time with the chamber. From small local businesses to Blue Cross Blue Shield to the Texas Rangers, there was one thing each client had in common: They often brought an attorney to meetings, including their insights.
She especially loved working with the Dallas Mavericks, as she’s a diehard basketball fan.
“I grew up thinking attorneys are just in the courtroom,” she says. “I didn’t realize they’re also in the community and helping businesses and nonprofits make an impact. Seeing that in action was so cool.”
That’s when the idea of law school began to take root.
No business Annette interacted with went without legal representation. It was a vital part of helping a business achieve its mission. The hours of reading in law school didn’t intimidate Annette since she’d done a large amount of reading and writing while working in research.
But there was one major obstacle – tuition.
Annette knew the law schools she applied to would offer scholarships, but she’d need something major to justify a fourth degree. She recalled a young woman named Averie Bishop who she followed on social media. Averie had recently made history as the first Asian American to become Miss Texas. She offered online workshops in which she discussed her experience, the professional and personal development she gained, and the scholarship dollars she earned toward her own legal education.
“Averie’s life experiences were similar to mine,” Annette says. “She encouraged me and empowered me to give it a try.”
What followed was a year of interviews, public speaking and social impact initiatives. For Annette, that last part was easy. She made autism safety and awareness the focus of her platform, sharing her story of caring for Andrew.
In 2023, she was crowned Miss Southlake at a regional competition. This was a pivotal point, as contestants for Miss Texas must win at a local level first. As the competition turned more serious going into 2024, Annette told her boss at the chamber she’d need to step away to make more time for traveling.
“I’d told him what I was doing when I first began the journey, but I never imagined it impacting work,” Annette says. “I didn’t think I was going to win.”
But by the time Annette made it to the preliminaries, her colleagues back at the Dallas Chamber were putting together a watch party. They even ordered a yellow cake to match the stunning yellow silk evening gown Annette donned for the final.
As the evening of June 29 arrived, Annette took the stage at the Eisemann Center in Dallas along with four other finalists. As the contestants made their way through personal interviews and talent presentations, it came down to two finalists: Annette and Chloe Burke from Houston, Texas.
As the emcee announced Chloe as the first runner up, viewers could see the shock of realization roll over Annette. Her determination had paid off.
The newly crowned Miss Texas went to sleep that night with roughly 800 followers on her Instagram account. The next morning, she woke up to 28,000.
“Actress Viola Davis had posted the video of my crowning,” Annette says. “At first I thought it had to be a spam account, but it wasn’t.”
Davis, along with other prominent female public figures, were cheering on the first Ghanaian winner of the title.
“The Miss Texas crown is much bigger than me,” Annette says. “This crown is for every young child on the spectrum who felt alienated, abandoned, stereotyped or unseen because of their different abilities. This crown is for the young immigrant girls who were caregivers before they were students, friends or teammates.
“This crown is for those who dare to be different.”
From Stage to Podium
Annette secured a large scholarship from the Miss Texas pageant that will pay her way through the first two years of law school. With funding in hand, there was just one thing left to do – decide where to apply.
In line with her usual thoroughness, Annette applied to several law schools and had options when it came time to choose. With affordability taken care of, she looked at which schools gave her the most opportunity.
“Texas Tech’s School of Law provides a wealth of opportunities for law students, especially first-year students,” she says.
Only three months in, Annette has already become a finalist and top oralist in the 1L Negotiations competition, a contributing writer for the Texas Bank Lawyer, and she is the events chair for the Sport and Entertainment Law Society.
“I do not know of many law schools providing these kinds of opportunities for first-year students,” Annette says. “This sets Texas Tech apart in a great way.”
Annette has demonstrated a remarkable work ethic that’s been noticeable to faculty. Professor of Law Dustin Benham has Annette in his civil procedures course this fall.
“My class has a lot of engagement and that’s an area in which Annette thrives,” he says.
Benham believes all lawyers must be great communicators, whether they’re in the courtroom or not. He suspects Annette’s experience in the Miss Texas competition prepared her for the challenges of law school.
“At Texas Tech’s School of Law, we admit students we believe will succeed,” he says. “A big part of that is demonstrated academic ability. But another aspect is prior experience. Annette is a great example. She has had to hone her communication skills, demonstrate grit and has collected several skills that serve her now in law school.”
When Annette began dreaming of attending law school, she imagined practicing an area of law that would allow her to advocate for policies affecting people like her brother. Since learning about different practices of law, Annette has realized she wants to save her pro bono work for the causes closest to her heart.
“Eventually, I will be Andrew’s primary caretaker, and I want to get a good job so I can financially support him,” she says.
She wants to leave the advocacy work she does for individuals on the spectrum at that – advocacy work.
“I love doing it; I think if it became my career and someone paid me to do it, I would burn out,” Annette says.
Rather, she is considering working in sports and entertainment law. After winning Miss Texas, several brands began reaching out to Annette and offered brand deals, social media partnerships and some opportunities she’d never even heard of. Luckily, the former Miss Texas helped Annette through the process and taught her to read contracts carefully.
“Plenty of times she had to tell me, ‘You’re worth way more than that. Ask for more,’” Annette recalls. “It got me thinking, a lot of college athletes are getting brand deals, but they don’t all have attorneys helping them.”
Annette wants to ensure athletes understand what comes with commercializing their likeness and reputation.
“I love sports, especially college sports. I watch March Madness every year and make a bracket. I won the whole thing when I worked at the Dallas Chamber,” she remembers, smiling.
But the first-year law student reserves the right to change her mind. She says every new class she attends teaches her a new area of the law, and she’s interested in many aspects of it.
One thing is sure though; she’ll use her law degree and her platform to advocate for others.
“That’s why I love legal practice because you can help so many individuals,” Annette says.