Notre Dame alum makes a u-turn with university major and will soon graduate with a degree in marketing.
Notre Dame alum Jermaine Johnson II (NDP’15) is a student at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Calif., and a staff writer and a sports video producer for the Los Angeles Loyolan, an LMU student-run newspaper published weekly for the greater university community.
"I came into college as an accounting major primarily because of the accounting class I took at NDP with Ms. [Joanne] Beauchamp," he said. “But I’ve also always been passionate about sports and writing, and one of my closest friends was taking steps to become a broadcaster. I saw everything he was doing and that inspired me to change my career path."
Johnson promptly "readjusted" his major to marketing and picked up minors in journalism and African-American studies.
"I knew I would be more passionate about a career in sports than accounting," he said. "I eventually want to be on camera but I also love writing and will do that as I work my way to the front of the camera. Although sports is my true passion, I also have a high interest in other news and entertainment. Hopefully, I can overlap all those interests into one job in the future."
He is, in fact, already overlapping those interests. That's because he's a staff writer and a sports video producer for the Los Angeles Loyolan, an LMU student-run newspaper published weekly for the greater university community.
Johnson is shown recording a segment for a show he developed called End 2 End. During each episode of the show, he interviews different LMU athletes and highlights their lives with a focus on what they do outside of sports.
Currently, Johnson's primary responsibilities revolve around producing content for a show he developed himself called End 2 End. During each episode of the show, he interviews different LMU athletes and highlights their lives with a focus on what they do outside of sports.
In addition to his job at The Loyolan, Johnson serves as a resident advisor and student assistant in admissions and has worked as a new student orientation leader. He's also been very active in a number of other student-led organizations, including serving as the president of a club called, “Brothers of Consciousness,” which is a group of black males at LMU dedicated to serving their community. In addition, he's currently vice president of LMU's chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and is a member of the Black Student Union, which helps facilitate unity within the black community on and off campus by means of cultural awareness, spiritual enrichment, community service, social avenues, and academic and professional development.
Obviously a busy student, Johnson credits Notre Dame Prep with helping to get him ready for university academics and the sometimes hectic life on campus.
"NDP vastly prepared me for the rigor of college," he said. "I made the Dean’s List during my freshman year and I owe a lot of that to the strong foundation established in high school. While occasionally there were times when I struggled because LMU is such a super challenging school, I always felt, thanks to NDP, that I always had the right tools necessary to succeed."
Johnson also noted that he was a bit unprepared at first for Los Angeles and the scene there that initially was kind of a culture shock for him. "In LA," he said, "I am constantly surrounded by a diverse array of looks, lifestyles and beliefs, which is fantastic."
But he also believes that the way Notre Dame interwove its mission into just about everything he encountered in high school gave him a great head start in working and helping those in the Los Angeles community who need a helping hand.
"I think NDP’s focus on its mission played a huge role in my current passion for serving others," he said. "A lot of the extracurriculars during my time at LMU require me to be a resource for others and NDP definitely helped me learn the importance of being that resource."
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org