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“I’ve always been
able to conform to a situation, so coming to college after being
home-schooled most of my life hasn’t been a problem for me,”
says Stephen Johnson, who enrolled at Dalton State in the spring
of 2008.
Johnson, who spent most of his childhood in Ellijay, Georgia,
was given opportunities by his parents to attend public school
in the past, but chose to remain home-schooled because “it
worked for me.” He graduated two years ahead of his class, and
began his first formal foray into higher education by taking
courses at a technical school.
“I was 17 at the time, and I tried going that route, but it
wasn’t what I wanted. A friend suggested that I try Dalton
State.”
Johnson discovered quickly that there are major differences
between sitting at the kitchen table completing assignments and
sitting in a college classroom listening to lectures.
“I never really had a professor that I could bounce ideas off
of,” he says. “Here I’ve been able to do that. I consider myself
to be a free thinker, and I like to look at all sides of a
situation. The professors here help you see things, but they
don’t hold your hand.”
A self-admitted “journalist,” Johnson loves recording his
experiences and plans to write a book one day, detailing his own
educational journey as a home-schooled youth who attends a
public college. |
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Johnson hopes to combine his love of writing with his love
for music. A passionate guitarist, he has played a variety of
venues from family gatherings, church stages across Georgia, and
even national television on TBN.
Influenced by guitarist Lincoln Brewster and bassist Flea,
Johnson admires and respects their musical accomplishments and
hopes one day to achieve the same success. He’d like to use his
college degree as the foundation upon which to build a career in
the music industry. But if a recording career doesn’t pan out he
will have his college degree to build his future on.
“I plan to major in marketing at Dalton State. I know a business
degree’s going to be a good start for a career in the field.”
After he earns a BBA in Marketing, Johnson hopes to pursue
either a master’s degree in that field or a corporate law
degree.
“I have several ideas about my future,” he says. “I might like
to move to Atlanta or some other major city and manage corporate
accounts in the music industry, or, if I go to law school, be a
music attorney or something of the sort.”
Meanwhile, at Dalton State, he’s enjoying all of his classes,
particularly the lab sciences and humanities classes.
“Even though they’re very contrasting types of classes, I enjoy
them equally.”
While Johnson says he does not yet know what will happen in his
future, he insists that he is “determined to find out.”
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