Sr. Avery Johnson has a full plate most nights and has just about mastered the art of time management, and she does it with a smile. It’s easy to catch her cheering at the varsity football games on Friday nights, or volunteering at the Holland Hospital on the weekends, she’s almost always out and about.
Since sophomore year Johnson has been involved in multiple academic and volunteer opportunities. Because she is involved in the IB program , she is required to have 50 creativity hours, 50 activity hours, and 50 volunteer hours for the whole 2 years until graduation. In order to accomplish the time, she gets involved with the Humane Society, Holland Community Garden, Holland Hospital, Stuff the bus, and coaches Rocket Cheer leading. On top of these required hours, Johnson is part of the NHS (national honor society). NHS requires 20 hours of community service, and the hours from IB and NHS cannot overlap. In order to fill the hours that don’t overlap, she does extra activities that aren’t connected to any programs like Homeless for a Night! On top of the hours she puts in outside of school, her class schedule is no walk in the park. Nine out of the fifteen classes she has taken in the past 2 years have been IB. “It’s pretty different from a normal class, so it takes a little getting used to but after that the workload is challenging to where it’s not easy and boring but it’s not pull your hair out hard.” Johnson said.
Johnson also has a dedication to her cheer leading team for 2 seasons in a row from June to February. A varsity sport in general takes a lot of heart and energy, including extra performances and weekends for competitions in the winter. On top of her sport being an escape for Johnson rather than another responsibility, she juggles time with her friends into that mix as well.
“Avery is really the responsible one, she’s always doing all her homework and she’s always the one with the work done in class. She’s also the one with the good test scores. But I never hear her complain about doing it, she just balances her time good I guess,” Johnson’s best friend Jadah Lopez said. She works on her homework and her responsibilities diligently and leaves herself time to be able to hang out with friends or relax. “Weekends depend on what I have to get done. I usually set aside the whole day of Sunday to work on all my homework I have.” She doesn’t sway on that rule either, no exceptions, the work gets done and it doesn’t matter what cool thing is going on in the weekend because she prioritizes accordingly. Johnson’s family even vouches for her lack of complaints, “My sister’s dedicated [and] she inspires me to get all my work done. She’s the definition of a perfect student and doesn’t complain one bit. I look up to my sister, she’s organized and she’s an overall amazing person,” Avery’s little sister Kallyn said. All her responsibilities and no complaints, Avery Johnson is exceptional.
There are lot’s of students at WO with full agendas, Johnson stands out for her attitude and her optimism towards her work. She’s able to handle a difficult task, or juggle multiple tasks and not complain or get attention for it. Johnson is well deserving of the spotlight at WO.
