Nick+Johnson+Transcript

Kirstin Palovick: So when you were a student, what activities were you involved in?

Nick Johnson: I was involved in Hy News, Little Theater, Student Council, and there are several other things that I definitely took the yearbook picture for, but can’t say that I ever attended any meetings, but obviously really really heavily involved in Hy News and Little Theater and Student Council. Held offices in fact.

Palovick: Well what were some of those offices?

Johnson: Oh goodness. Lot of offices that came to me not doing anything because I found that Vice President is actually a role that sounds really important, but for the most part you don’t have to do anything, and I was that of the student body my senior year. I’m sure I had some important duty that I don’t remember, like doing something with the dance or Hobo Day or something, but the role I think I took the most pride in and really worked the hardest on was Editor-in-Chief of the Hy News, and I think we had a really super, super year there that year. Three really, really great kind of tri-editors, but like I was the editor so that was my proudest accomplishment I think at the time, and then Little Theater I think and Thespians. I was the president of both and that’s not a big deal.

Palovick: Did you stick with any of these like all four years of high school?

Johnson: I was lucky enough to be asked by my brother because two of my older brothers were in Hy News and at the time the sponsor was Ms. Nancy Smith and she started to know my older brothers pretty well maybe asked some questions about me and you know I think she kind of thought, “If he’s anything like you guys, let’s just ask him to be part of Hy News,” so the story about that is just simply that I was simply asked to be a part of Hy News the summer before my freshman year in high school and I was like yeah, yeah I do, I do want to be on Hy News and that was the best part I mean I was the only freshman the whole semester and it gave me a little bit of an edge in terms of like knowing what to expect and how to report little by little. I even remember getting my first story and working so hard on it and not knowing exactly what to do, but that story won in the Cub Reporter Division in like one of the competitions we went to. That was really neat, and so I kind of felt like I belonged there and I always knew that I could climb my way up maybe one day I would be the Editor-in-Chief.

Palovick: What staff did you write for?

Johnson: I started off on Sports, which is weird because it’s not really something I care a whole lot about, but it kind of taught me to write because you know, if you have to write about something that you’re kind of distant from, it does teach you how to write I think and try to make the story sound interesting and at least readable to an audience, but then Features or Double Truck was my junior year I did that and I really enjoyed doing that one. I got really into like different layout and design for it, and then finally went way into senior year, which is Editor-in-Chief.

Palovick: So, did you know when you were in high school that you wanted to go into teaching right away or was that something you built up on later on?

Johnson: I totally believe it was in the back of my mind somewhere everywhere throughout high school, but I think, you know, because I was like, honestly, like playing this achiever role in high school that I was thinking I was going to do something bigger like I remember thinking I was going to go into medicine and all these things that really aren’t me I think. When I applied to U of I, where I went, I in fact applied under the School of Liberal Arts, but with like Pre-Med emphasis. Yeah, Pre-Med Psychology I believe. So as soon as I got there though, I knew I was changing, so it just was like from the moment I got there, I made all the steps I could to make it over to education, so I think it was somewhere in between that senior year of college…yeah senior year of high school freshman year of college that I made that pretty clear to myself that that’s what I was going to do.

Palovick: Because I know in high school you did a lot of plays, did you ever at first want to go into a huge career in acting?

Johnson: Interesting enough, like none of the very talented people I went to school with ever really went into drama. There were a few people I guess from my year that did kind of go into that, the entertainment business, but that was just not seen as…I don’t know if it wasn’t seen as a viable opportunity option or it certainly didn’t seem stable not that that was really what it was. It also, of course, seems very risky and I do, and of course for a long time I kind of regretted the little part of me that never went ahead and did that, but then at the same time I really appreciate the stability that having a normal job and staying one place will do, but I also kind of regret some of the possible opportunities that I could have had and people I could have met through that. Nothing is more fun than working on a play. I really think there isn’t, but at least I can in this capacity.

Palovick: Well I mean, now I know that you picked teaching a little later on, but did you take any classes in high school that prepared you a lot for a career in the future with this?

Johnson: No.

Palovick: Well ok. Were you nervous upon entering high school? It seems like not really because of the whole Hy News thing.

Johnson: The Hy News thing that I talked about earlier really made it a nice transition, but all of the same things applied. I came from a very small school. My class of 33 to whatever this was…500 plus. So that was neat, interesting, and nerve wracking, but having a what was then DSP Program, I had classes mostly the same people, which made it a little more comforting, but I was nervous about going to lunch. I found somebody that I kind of knew from someone through someone else and sat with him for a few days. Then I figured it out and sat on what I call the cool side of the cafeteria, which was not, but it was cool to us because it was quiet, and I sat with the older kids. I liked it a lot more.

Palovick: So your next question. Do you remember what your themes for Hobo Week were and if you participated a lot in them?

Johnson: One year I know we did, ok this was back when we still had, part of my high school career we still had the floats and the parade. In fact, all of my high school career we still did the floats. They like declined in participation then I do remember during that time, but one of the float themes was board games, one of them was cereals, and your slogan to your frame, I mean to your float, you would try to pack in as many cereal names or board game names you could really it was always about beating the Kayhawks or whatever their names was. We always played them because they must have always been just awful because you know you want a guaranteed win on Hobo Day so we were always playing the Kayhawks.

Palovick: Did you attend prom?

Johnson: Yes I did, I went my freshman year with someone. Oh yeah I remember that, it was a lot of fun. And then I was in charge of prom with Amanda Altman. We were kind of in charge of…whatever you want to call that…the CEOs of prom. We enjoyed doing that and we had a good theme I think. It was Music of the Night so the whole, well then cafeteria, not one thing was showing from the ceiling to the floor. It was all black and white and then a little bit of red…I don’t know. We had those Phantom of the Opera masks I don’t know we thought it was neat. We used to really, really decorate that. I don’t know I haven’t been to prom these days so maybe they do the same kind of thing. Yeah I went to prom. Then my senior year, my prom date Jamie Hensley came down with Chicken Pox the week before and I mean she was in no condition to go to prom. We were both on prom court though. She actually showed up for like ten minutes all dressed up with these really long gloves on to cover her pox. She showed up because she won, well she was in the running and she won and so did I. Then we had our little dance and then she left.

Palovick: You won Prom King?

Johnson: Yeah.

Palovick: Awww.

Johnson: Oh and it’s just changed me forever and ever.

Palovick: Who was the principal of West when you attended?

Johnson: Dr. Phillip Silsby. He was awesome. He was also the principal that was here the first three years I was working as a teacher. Incredible leader, exceptional motivator, a little quirky at times but that’s exactly the kind of person I think you would want running a big school. Lots of challenges he faced them all really well and handled every situation really, really well I think.

Palovick: What was your favorite subject in school? Was it actually English?

Johnson: Nope it was math. I loved math. I remember when I could no longer take math in college because I had taken the one required class I needed for my major. I was actually sort of sad that I was no longer to take math again, but I told myself it would be ok.

Palovick: What was your most memorable moment at West? You can pick one.

Johnson: Somehow this just popped into my head. So I remember being in Mr. Waymeyer’s Calculus class…I don’t remember the date, but I remember the exact day we were all sitting there listening around a little portable radio when we heard the OJ Simpson verdict that he was not guilty. It was funny because some people were like “Woo!”, but we were all a little shocked and then some people were mad. It was a very pendulous school back then.

Palovick: What was one of your hardest moments throughout high school that you dealt with?

Johnson: Trying to maybe strike the balance between trying to fit in and then trying to actually be friends with the people who are really friends to me. That was actually a challenge.

Palovick: Well, did anything major in history happen when you were a student?

Johnson: Oh my God, OJ Simpson! No there was that whole thing, I don’t know how that sticks out in my mind. There was also at someone’s graduation party from when he was a senior, I was a sophomore and when that whole chase went on. There was a chase. It’s a big televised police chase. He was going to kill himself. You should look it up. Major in history with 90s…well Bill Clinton became president and that was kind of cool. You’re really making me feel stupid now because I can’t think of other things that happened during that time period. The musical Rent came out! I have no idea. Surely more than that happened, but that’s what you got.

Palovick: Around school, what were some of the main areas to hang out?

Johnson: You could go so many places and no one would ever find you. There was a bathroom I would go to because no one would bother me. There was like a place where the smokers would go. There was a place that you would find random stoners because you know you could walk to the stadium because it was very close yet very secluded and there were all these passageways because what we had were several separated buildings and…well where did I go though? I really didn’t hide out anywhere. I’ll tell you what, the place I spent the most amount of time, and being on Hy News really helped because I would eat lunch in the Hy News office and then I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone and feel awkward or anything that anyone feels in the cafeteria.

Palovick: Around school, like after school and stuff, where were some of the places you guys would hang out like you and your friends?

Johnson: You mean like in the community?

Palovick: Yes. Community hangouts.

Johnson: I don’t think there really were any to be honest with you. I don’t think there are in places like this. I think…I don’t know some people would just go to their jobs. I always did after school activities so that’s where I would hang out, which was kind of lame.

Palovick: What is the main way in which high school changed you? Were there any important lessons you learned?

Johnson: High school probably, I mean I was so bent on achieving success that I really was that I really let loose in college a little bit. I don’t know if that taught me any lessons. It was definitely a pre cursor for one heck of a ride in college.

Palovick: Did you make any friends in high school that you still frequently keep in touch with?

Johnson: Yes, thanks Facebook. No, I do have a few people that I do keep in touch with. Oddly enough, many of them are ones that I’ve been friends that I’ve been with since grade school, so I can’t tell you if it’s from that or grade school or the long gevity of the relationship has contributed to it, but yes.

Palovick: I know like the dress code and what not, but are there any major style differences that have changed between now and since you were a student?

Johnson: Well though I firmly believe that hip hop fashions are the slowest to ever change, there was that for a long time that just kind of stayed the same like the loose fitting shirts and the baggy pants, but now we just have baggy pants everywhere on every single person. People would, yeah because there was this really weird preppy phase that when I was in high school like plaid shirts and tucked in and tight jeans it seemed like, and really, I don’t know. Nothing really interesting. So there’s a lot more of a variety maybe now, but you know, when I first started teaching it was all that really, can I say this, Slutty. Well you know what that is I don’t even need to describe that. I mean, and I don’t know if we didn’t have the dress code if it wouldn’t’ still be a lot of that going on. But we certainly, with the dress code, still get like pants below the butt cheeks and stuff.

Palovick: Along with that, I want to add, whenever you were a high schooler, what were some of the cultural things you liked? What was some of the music, the movies, you liked? Well if you can remember of course.

Johnson: This is weird. I can’t even…I do remember that when I was a younger high school kid, Aladdin came out. I remember going to see that and it was a big deal, and every year then there was a big Disney movie. Lion King came out in terms of like friendly family friendly entertainment. But then I also remember when I was in high school there was a group of us that like some of us, when we were seniors, were already 18, but some weren’t, so we got to see the movie, those of us who were 18, got to see the NC-17 movie Showgirls, which was really awful.

Palovick: So on that note, I’m going to apparently jump back to the theater topic. So back to the theater thing, who was in charge of theater? Johnson: Who was then? Dr. Richard Hunsaker was in charge of theater and he was the director of many shows.

Palovick: He did speech and debate stuff.

Johnson: He did that, too. If we did a Contest Play, which it wasn’t every year, he would do it. Nina Bono was another big director. She would often do the Children’s Play. Jane Mueth, who passed away my senior year of high school, she was also a big director. So those were the three big names you would have worked with here. Ms. Janet Keen would have been the technical director for a lot of the shows, and then my senior year, she was the director.

Palovick: What were some of the major plays you were in like some of your favorite ones that you did?

Johnson: In high school, my favorite one would have been…oh my favorite one oh I don’t know, but we did, well my favorites were always the musical. We did Meet Me in St. Louis, which was the worse show ever. It’s just so boring my freshman year. Sophomore year we did Bye Bye Birdie, which was definitely fun. I think I, there’s a lot of things I’d do before I try to do that show again. Pippin was a lot of fun because for us, having only done traditional shows that was like a really cool different show to do and so that was a lot of fun. Then my senior year we did South Pacific.

Palovick: Now look back on your high school career. You know how like we have our “clicks” now. If you could think back, what click would you define yourself in and why?

Johnson: Ok this is going to seem cheesy, but I really totally wasn’t really in a click. Like I know I told you before I tried to kind of fit into some, but when I came to my senses I kind of realize I went with my friends who were mostly in theater, but I think my ability to kind of not fit in with a click and kind of steer through different groups and just be friends with a lot of different people might have been my…I was dancing with the prom queen…who had chicken pox…wearing a crown myself. People liked or appreciated me because I wasn’t trying to be someone else, although I was for a little bit. I didn’t have a click, but there were clicks. There were really odd ones that don’t exist today. There was a group of Ska kids and of course this was before the dress code, but they would wear suits and like top hats and they were against conformity ironically because they were all wearing the same thing. And there was like a straightedge crowd that just wanted to advertise that they didn’t like drink or smoke and then they would wear an “X” on their hand. I know interesting.

Palovick: I just have one more question. What would you label as one of your proudest moments in high school? Dancing with chicken pox prom queen?

Johnson: No because prom was kind of boring. You know prom was boring. The cool thing about prom was going to eat somewhere and having fun there.

Palovick: Weren’t you dancing?

Johnson: Nope. So proudest accomplishment…I don’t know I think. Maybe I could…Oh I won the Citizenship Award at the end of the year and that was a big deal and a big honor and I think it still is. Although I didn’t get it, I was one of the finalist for the Coca-Cola Scholarship, which no one in the school had ever gotten even to that level. And I think that’s it.

Palovick: Well thank you for the interview.