Graduating Senior Darian Johnson
Posted: May 7, 2015 at 7:59 am, Last Updated: May 8, 2015 at 12:46 pm
Sport has always been part of Darian’s life He says his mother has pictures of him playing basketball as early as the age of 2. His love of sport continued through high school where he earned nine varsity letters for basketball, baseball and football. Darian says that playing sports, as well as staying busy with school, family and friends, taught him how to be focused and kept him out of trouble.
During his sophomore year at Mason, a friend invited Darian to participate in the Prince William Campus Sports Challenge. While playing, he noticed the referees were students and decided he could continue his love of sport by being a referee. Soon after, he was hired by Mason Recreation and has worked as a referee ever since. In addition, he’s held the positions of CSA, Intramural Supervisor, Field Supervisor, and Marketing Team practicum student – at times, working as many as 40 hours per week!
Darian says, “Working for Mason Rec has been a great experience. It’s increased confidence and my leadership abilities as well as allowing me to make great friends. When I came to Mason as a freshman, my friends were my dorm mates. Once I got to Mason Rec, that’s where all my friends were from.”
This summer Darian will intern for the Professional Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. There he’ll be in the Communications Department where he’ll work in archives, answer calls, contribute to social media, and participate in their Enshrinement Weekend August 6 – 9. During Enshrinement Weekend, he hopes to be able to meet some of the players being inducted into the Hall of Fame and maybe get some pictures taken with them.
After his internship, Darian hopes to begin his career working in a sports company in operations, marketing, or communications. Eventually he wants to own his own Sports Management Firm where he can work with athletes to improve their physical abilities, develop them psychologically, and eventually help them to grow in their careers.
Darian’s long term goal is to be a general manger for an NBA team. He says, “I grew up loving sports, so to run a team would be great. I want to be able to inspire others.” He adds, “I’ll tell them to stay focused and to always chase their dreams. Stay true to yourself, your family and to God and everything will work out.”
Darian graduates in May with a B.S. in Health, Recreation and Tourism with a concentration in Sports Management.
By Jennifer Lehman, MS RYT