{"502701":{"#nid":"502701","#data":{"type":"news","title":"GT-AE\u0027s Henderson Johnson is Named Mr. Georgia Tech","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJust when we thought Homecoming 2015 couldn\u0027t get better, in walks\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EHenderson Johnson, II.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe GT-AE\u0026nbsp;senior was named Mr. Georgia Tech 2015 during a Homecoming game that saw the Yellow Jackets take an unlikely victory from Florida State.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJohnson shared his coronation with ChBe major\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;Missy Pittard,\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;who was named Ms. Georgia\u0026nbsp;Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor anyone who knows the Lithonia,\u0026nbsp;GA native, his triumph over a field of 25 competitors is no surprise.\u0026nbsp;His energy, attitude, and smarts make him a stand-out even among the best students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut, as fiercely as he competes to win at whatever he does, Johnson is the last person to predict victory.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I was standing there with\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003Egiants\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E, really --\u0026nbsp; the people who make things happen at Georgia Tech,\u0022 he said of his fellow finalists, who were brought out onto the football field during the Halftime Show.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022So I really wasn\u0027t thinking I\u0027d win. I was wondering who\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Ewoul\u003C\/em\u003Ed win.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat might explain why Johnson briefly lost his balance when his name was called over the loud speakers. It also explains why he was busy studying for a test the next day.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Test doesn\u0027t care what title I\u0026nbsp;got on Saturday,\u0022 he said, with a smile.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd there it is: Johnson is a guy whose eyes are always on the prize. He\u0027s always scanning the future for the next goal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter finishing his undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering and business technology next spring, Johnson plans to earn a doctorate in aerospace engineering, get a law degree, work as a patent attorney, and, then teach-\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Ewhat else?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E- aerospace engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBefore he finished his undergraduate studies, he wanted to go for the Mr. Georgia Tech title, which brings together many of the best qualities of his experience here.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It\u0027s something I was introduced to my freshman year, when\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EJacob\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003ETzegaebe\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;(MSCE \u002713) was the reigning Mr. Georgia Tech,\u0022 says Johnson, one of just five finalists considered.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I\u0026nbsp;saw that here was this black man who was Mr. Georgia Tech, so I\u0026nbsp;thought that\u0027s something I\u0026nbsp;could do. Three years later, I\u0027m doing it because Jacob opened the door for me. And the thing is, I\u0027m holding that door open.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat, in a nutshell, describes the spirit\u0026nbsp; that drives Henderson Johnson. Articulate, friendly, and very ambitious, he would rather leverage an opportunity than wait for one to appear. Friends, like fellow AE senior\u003Cstrong\u003EElizabeth Balga\u003C\/strong\u003E, commend him for finding ways to make things work -- for himself, and for everyone around him.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I\u0027ve traveled in lots of circles at Georgia Tech and I\u0027m comfortable in them all,\u0022\u0026nbsp;he says. \u0022As Mr. Georgia Tech, I\u0026nbsp;think I\u0026nbsp;can tell a story that every student can relate to.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELike many engineers, Johnson has a story that starts with a pinch of science fiction.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022In ninth grade, after I\u0026nbsp;saw the first\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EIron Man\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;movie, with its big weapons, I was hooked. I\u0026nbsp;started asking around what I\u0027d need to study to do that,\u0022 he says.\u0026nbsp; \u0022The answer,\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Eper Google\u003C\/em\u003E, was aerospace.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESeven years later, Johnson doesn\u0027t need Google to explain how his celluloid fantasies gradually morphed into a real-world career.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022What\u0027s engineering?\u0026nbsp;It\u0027s literally taking something imaginary and applying a body of knowledge to it to make something happen. I\u0026nbsp;love that. Like flight -- how did that happen? Someone had to imagine it, and, then, it had to be engineered. I love being an engineer.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJohnson seems to apply this same principle to his life, where he\u0026nbsp; systematically turns his dreams into reality by working hard, asking a lot of questions, and looking for opportunities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAnd that formula has worked.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe has twice landed a prestigious internship with the Boeing Company; he is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers, Sigma Gamma Tau, and Omicron Delta Kappa; and he\u0027s a\u0026nbsp;Bill \u0026amp;\u0026nbsp;Melinda Gates Millennium Scholar. For the past year and a half, he\u0027s conducted research on turbulent flames with Prof.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003ETim Lieuwen.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I\u0027ve been measuring consumption speed and other relevant characteristics because the better we understand turbulent flames, the better we can build combustors. We can make them cleaner, more efficient, and safer.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELately, Johnson has begun to\u0026nbsp; focus on his next venture: graduate school.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I know it costs a lot to pursue a doctorate and a law degree,\u0022 he said. \u0022But my mantra is: if I have to pay for it, then I\u0027ve done something wrong. There are ways to make it affordable. And I will find them.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf that sounds like bluster, it\u0027s not. Henderson Johnson has always loved a good challenge.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022When I was accepted to Tech, I was also considering Tuskegee, because they offered me a full ride,\u0022\u0026nbsp;he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022So\u0026nbsp; I called my aunt, who graduated from Tech, and asked her what it was like. She said a lot of things, but she ended with:\u0026nbsp;\u0027It\u0027s really,\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Ereally\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003Ehard.\u0027\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJohnson\u0027s face lights up at those words.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022That\u0027s what convinced me. I\u0026nbsp;wanted something really, really hard. I wanted to be challenged.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe got what he was looking for at GT-AE.\u0026nbsp; And then some.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022In high school, I\u0026nbsp;could read something once and get it,\u0022 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022But at Tech, I\u0026nbsp;realized new concepts were not going to come to me as quickly and as easily as they used to. Sometimes I\u0026nbsp;had to read something 2, 3, 4, 5 times to really get it. And that\u0027s what I\u0026nbsp;did. Because that\u0027s the expectation at Tech -- and in the work place -- you have to really,\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Ereally\u003C\/em\u003Eget it.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWe\u0027re pretty confident that Henderson Johnson II has really,\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Ereally\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;got it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAnd then some.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Just when we thought Homecoming 2015 couldn\u0027t get better, in walks Henderson Johnson, II."}],"uid":"30502","created_gmt":"2016-02-18 11:46:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:46","author":"Sapna Mistry","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-10-26T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-10-26T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"502691":{"id":"502691","type":"image","title":"Henderson Johnson","body":null,"created":"1455904800","gmt_created":"2016-02-19 18:00:00","changed":"1475895263","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:23","alt":"Henderson Johnson","file":{"fid":"204759","name":"henderson_johnson.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/henderson_johnson_0.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/henderson_johnson_0.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":423160,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/henderson_johnson_0.jpeg?itok=-NR7CJnL"}}},"media_ids":["502691"],"groups":[{"id":"1239","name":"School of Aerospace Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"136","name":"Aerospace"},{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"126111","name":"GT-AE"},{"id":"169952","name":"Henderson Johnson"},{"id":"2938","name":"homecoming"},{"id":"11311","name":"Mr. Georgia Tech"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["kathleen.moore@ae.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}