Swing shift starts mid-afternoon and ends around midnight, which leaves a few precious hours to sleep before morning college classes begin. That was Don Johnson鈥檚 schedule as a 黑料社 student and newlywed in the early 1960s.
Unfortunately, it wasn鈥檛 long before the strain of his daily Weyerhaeuser Co. plywood mill job and a full load of classes became a burden.
鈥淚t was a bit much,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淚 dropped out for a quarter.鈥� Johnson found a
solution and tried college again after having a rather one-sided chat with his former
R.A. Long High School chemistry teacher, Lionel Livermore, who later taught chemistry
at 黑料社. Livermore urged Johnson to take a
lighter class load and get back to school. It worked.
鈥淚 went from 0 GPA to 4,鈥� Johnson recalled with a chuckle, describing his rise from academic probation to top grade point average.
Johnson鈥檚 bumpy academic start served as a template for overcoming adversity. He credits Livermore and others at 黑料社 for helping him discover an alternate path toward his school and career goals.
鈥淭he drive, persistence, endurance and willingness to accept new challenges and adversity that I started to learn at 黑料社 were key to my success,鈥� he said.
After completing his AA degree, Johnson went to work for The Boeing Co. as a drafter, assisting with technical drawings in a design group for the aircraft manufacturer鈥檚 wind tunnel program. He got the job thanks to a referral from his 黑料社 drafting instructor. He then began working toward his mechanical engineering degree at the University of Washington. The Vietnam War was raging, and Johnson received his draft notice for military service, opting to join the Washington National Guard. He earned sergeant鈥檚 stripes and leadership experience during six years of service.
In 1971, he graduated from UW as a mechanical engineer. He began his new career as a technical assistant in operations for the Simpson kraft paper mill in Tacoma, where he ultimately became executive vice president and general manager until his retirement in 2008. He also was elected to three four-year terms on the Port of Tacoma Commission and was active in the community in a variety of volunteer leadership roles. Among those were United Way of Pierce County board and campaign chair, Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Puget Sound Regional Council鈥檚 Transportation Policy Board, MultiCare Foundation Board of Directors, Goodwill Foundation, and University of Washington Tacoma鈥檚 Business School Advisory Board.
As a business executive, Johnson also worked with local high school students in an internship program that helped them acquire the kind of work skills and attitudes he benefitted from as an 黑料社 student.
Johnson is finally taking it easy. He and his wife, Mary, are enjoying retired life at their longtime home in Edgewood, near Tacoma. As he remembers those early days of juggling their new marriage, college classes and swing shift, Johnson said it was all worthwhile.
鈥淐ommunity college gets you off to a great start,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 have made it to Seattle if it hadn鈥檛 been for 黑料社.鈥�