After a lengthy four years of high school, the Class of 2026 has finally reached its long-awaited finish line. It’s important to take this point in the year as a time for teachers and students to recognize the accomplishments of their graduating seniors of Athens Drive.
Ella Johnson has been nominated for a senior spotlight for her overall greatness, not only as a student, but also as an athlete and as an achieving young woman, a friend and a classmate.
“If I had to describe Ella Johnson in one word, I’d say competitive,” said Tyler Granger, Flag Football coach and CTE teacher at Athens Drive. “How serious she took the sport really stood out to me, because a lot of people, like upfront because it was just a club sport initially, didn’t really take it as a full on sport; they treated it as ‘oh my fun secondary sport,’ but [Ella] really took it serious and helped it grow into [it] now being a full varsity sport.”
Johnson’s exemplary effort and performance in her sport are seen by all of her coaches. Her love and passion for winning has thrived throughout the year, where she has played soccer and flag football (Powderpuff) throughout high school.
“I’ve played flag football since it was introduced to me my sophomore year. I’ve been on the soccer team all four years of high school, but have only played for two due to my ACLs,” said Johnson.
Johnson suffered from two ACL tears during her junior and senior years from playing flag football. She regularly attends physical therapy so she can get back in the groove of things and hopefully be able to play club sports in college. She, however, did not let this bump in the road affect her love for the team and the sport.
“My parents met playing flag football, and after I loved playing Powderpuff, they encouraged me to play. My dad stepped up to be the defensive coach, so this year was his last time coaching me. He’s been my coach on and off since I started playing sports,” said Johnson.
Aside from sports, Johnson also has an exceptional academic performance.
“My GPA is a 4.0 unweighted and a 4.482 weighted. I try to find a balance between my sports, job, social life and school. Whenever I have time in class, I try to do work for other classes, just because I usually don’t have time at home. Playing sports and also working definitely takes up a lot of my time, but my teachers are always receptive to questions, and my friends and I usually help each other out,” said Johnson.
Johnson’s stellar work-life balance strategies will take her much further than Athens Drive, where she will attend North Carolina State University to pursue her career dreams, majoring in communications and minoring in journalism.
Her love for journalism stems not only from her personal passions of storytelling, but also from some deeper, more sensitive experiences in her life.
“I really love writing and being able to tell people’s stories, which is something that I’ve grown up around. My sister had a cancerous brain tumor, so we were always at events where people had to speak about what happened to their kids, and it really hit hard,” said Johnson, “I want to be able to give more people a voice, and combine it with one of my favorite things: sports. I was originally going to do marketing, but then I joined the newspaper at Athens my sophomore year and loved it so much I wanted it to be my job!”
Some never recover from such large, life-altering events, but it’s important to know that it will get better, as Johnson did. She took something most would view as the end of the road and turned it into a completely different route, one that will take her exactly where she was always meant to be.
As she nears the end of her school career, while excited, Johnson still has some things she will miss about Athens.
“I’m obviously a part of the newspaper and will definitely miss that. I’m also an Athletic Intern this year, where I do a lot of graphic making and ‘maintenance’ around the school under Travis Seese, our Athletic Director. I’m the senior class vice president, as well as a part of the NHS and the French National Honors Society. I’m going to miss being behind the scenes, and the sense of accomplishment I get when I do something around the school.. as well as watching new students come in and adjust. I have a lot of people that come to me for questions, which makes me happy because people see me as someone to talk to,” said Johnson.
Throughout Johnson’s four years here at Athens, she has made an incredible impact on the school and the surrounding community. She has grown and flourished, made new friends and enjoyed so many new experiences that will stick with her for a lifetime. She has built herself a structure, a foundation for the very life ahead of her and we cannot wait to see where life takes Ella Johnson.
“She wants to win,” said Granger.
