Claude Johnson makes a difference in a lot of people’s lives.
By day, the 59-year-old former Army engineer works at the Carson City Regional Correctional Facility where he teaches a variety of high school courses to inmates. His evenings, weekends and annual vacations are spent working with youths through the First Congregational Church in Greenville.
“Their (inmates’) education levels are vast. Their ages range from 17 to 65,” Johnson says. “One of my jobs is to teach them how to learn. I spend a lot of time getting them to understand that education is important – that knowledge is the key to change.
“I’m there to make a difference,” Johnson says. “With these guys, if you treat them with respect, you get it. They have had hard lives. Through the years, I have learned that the educational process is a whole new way of thinking for them.”
Johnson says he feels a sense of accomplishment with each inmate he helps.
“Recidivism changes when they get an education,” Johnson says. “A lot of times people do things out of a feeling of hopelessness. Once they learn what they are really capable of doing, they’re often successful.”
Johnson also understands how challenging achieving an education can be. Johnson left high school before he graduated and enlisted in the Army. While in the service, he earned a GED. However, he wasn’t satisfied with the GED and returned to high school because he wanted to earn a high school diploma.
“I went back to high school and was the oldest student in my graduating class at age 23. It was six years, eight months and 28 days from the time that I should have graduated. It was a big deal to me.”
Johnson left the Army in 1985 after 18 years. In 1986, he moved from Detroit to Gowen, and he enrolled at MCC that fall. In 1990, he earned an Associate of Applied Arts and Sciences degree in Business Administration and an Associate of Arts and Sciences degree. In 1996, he earned his bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a minor in Business Administration from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, which includes teaching certification in both areas.
“MCC played an integral part in my life. When I first enrolled at MCC, I was just getting out of the service and it was a welcoming environment,” Johnson says. “MCC was a relaxed atmosphere for me. It was easy for me to get involved.
“If it wasn’t for coming out here and going to MCC, I don’t know what I would be doing. I found the direction I wanted to travel through MCC,” Johnson says. “You see, I don’t really work – I have fun doing what I do.”
That’s one of the things Johnson says he enjoys about working as his church’s youth director.
“My job is what I do. The youth work is who I am. I am the lucky one,” Johnson says. “I am really blessed. This is a wonderful experience.”
This article is reprinted from MCC’s Fall 2009 edition of Career Focus magazine. Visit www.montcalm.edu/cf/fall2005/index.aspo to view the magazine.