Laura Feildelson’s Essay

Whitney Johnson, whom I do not know well, is my favorite person. I could be Whitney Johnson, but I’m not. However, what she has done makes me believe that I can do anything. Ms. Johnson grew up in Brooklyn and moved to Bedford where she graduated from Rippowam Cisqua School in 1999. She then attended The Westminster School and graduated in 2002. She played field hockey, ice hockey and lacrosse in both middle school and high school. Ms. Johnson was a regular kid. In Colorado College, she led a volunteer program to tutor children. During her junior year, she traveled to Cape Town, South Africa to work at an orphanage in Khayelitsha. This experience led Ms. Johnson to start an organization called Ubuntu Africa, a program to help children with AIDS.

Ms. Johnson is extremely brave to travel to a foreign country by herself. I admire her strength and courage she used to do what she loves. I admire her passion to help those in need especially in such a dangerous and far away place. Ms. Johnson was willing to take a risk to help children in Africa. She pushed away all of the discouragement and fears and believed in herself to follow what she knew would bring her happiness and others happiness too.

Other qualities that I admire in Ms. Johnson are her determination and her hard work. She created her own organization and came up with the idea by herself and did the work alone. She had to research, fundraise, and make the program comply with local laws. Although it was very hard to set up her company, she pursued her dream and was determined to help children in need. Ms. Johnson is very young and she has already done so much in her life to help others.

There are not many people like Whitney Johnson. She has put these children before her family and herself. She has taken the risk to do what she loves and what she thinks is best. What she is currently doing, makes me believe that I can do it too. She grew up in the same situation as I and followed her dream to help others in South Africa. Her bravery, determination, and hard work have led her to where she is now. These are all qualities I admire. Now, I have looked at life at a different point of view. I know if I have all of these qualities, I will succeed and maybe one day be like Whitney Johnson.