Chapter 27: Maya Johnson

Maya Johnson was born in Waterloo, Iowa on January 21st, 2002. From there, she moved to Waukee and then in the fifth grade, to Bettendorf. She is currently a Sophomore at Pleasant Valley High School and is fifteen years old. She lives with her younger brother Sam and little sister Quinn. Sam is twelve years old and and an athlete who enjoys baseball and basketball. Quinn, the youngest Johnson, is five years old and a dancer. Although having younger siblings is often exhausting, Johnson enjoys being the oldest.

In Johnson’s free time, she enjoys hanging out with her best friends: Claire Fields, Clare Basala, and Isabel Russmann. She says she enjoys these three because, “They’re hilarious and can make any situation fun.” She also enjoys listening to music, specifically Bruno Mars. She went to a Bruno Mars concert over the summer in Chicago and was blown away. “It was amazing, I realized how talented he is,” Johnson said. Her favorite movie is the classic comedy “Grown Ups”, starring Adam Sandler and David Spade. Besides movies and music, Johnson loves to eat pizza. The best place to get a slice is Pagliai’s Pizza in Iowa City.

For the school, Johnson runs cross country in the fall and plays soccer in the spring. She has been running cross country since her Freshman year, and has been a soccer player since first grade. She made the varsity soccer team as a Freshman, and plays defense for the Spartans.

Although Johnson is unsure about her future, it is certain she will be successful. Her dreams are to go to an unknown out of state college to become an Anesthesiologist. Johnson knows she wants to study in the math or science fields during college. A main reason for becoming an Anesthesiologist is because they “make a lot of money.” Johnson’s best subject in school is math, and it happens to be her favorite subject as well. Her favorite teacher of all time is Ms. Levora because she’s the nicest teacher she has ever had.

The greatest place Johnson has visited is Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. She would love to visit Africa if she ever got the chance. Although it is uncertain where Johnson will end up, her hard work and big smile will light up anyone’s day.