Taking a high school level class of any category is difficult and challenging, but the right teacher could turn a painful class into an enjoyable one. Ethan Johnson is one of those teachers.
Mr. Johnson was born in Michigan with very little memory of his time there, as he moved to Grand Junction, Colorado for his parents work. He enjoyed his childhood playing lots of sports and achieving excellence in his school work. Ethan has always been the creative type; Art was his favorite subject in school and he also attended art club.
From art, to soccer, to NHS, Mr. Johnson was a very well rounded student. He attended Grand Junction High School in 2004. During his freshman year, he played Varsity soccer for the high school. Throughout his high school career, Ethan played Varsity soccer, making it to state twice, and he was a captain for the team his junior and his senior year. Mr. Johnson graduated in 2008 with a 3.9 GPA.
For Mr. Johnson, high school wasn’t the end of his passion for soccer. He got a scholarship from Colorado Mesa University to play division two soccer. This was a very impressive feat by continuing his soccer to the next level. He played soccer throughout his studies at CMU, and did a very good job balancing his difficult classes with the busy schedule of a college athlete. Mr. Johnson graduated in 2014 with a degree in Art education.
If you looked at Ethan Johnson’s résumé you would see that he worked at Pablo’s Pizza in Grand Junction, and he also worked at multiple Romanian food vendors. His commitment was put to the test during this time because he had a very busy schedule with schoolwork, his jobs and also soccer, clubs, and he still needed time to summon all of the energy left over and direct it towards his art. After college, Mr. Johnson applied for a job here at Fruita 8/9 and began his career as an art teacher. Mr. Johnson also didn’t leave his soccer passion behind. He is also the boys’ varsity coach at FMHS and the Girls Varsity coach at Central HS.
Overall, Mr. Johnson has grown a lot from the boy he was in Michigan. The biggest obstacle that Mr. Johnson has overcome to get where he is today was surprisingly, his confidence. Mr. Johnson pushed himself going out of his comfort zone, by being confident and putting himself out there. By doing this, he achieved greatness in academics, athletics, and his hobbies. I believe it’s safe to say that confidence was Mr. Johnson’s biggest obstacle, but is now the root of his success.