Feature Story
From University Motto to Life Motto: Taking “Learn that Life is Service” to Heart
When Major Jake Johnson (‘11) stepped on campus as a freshman, Southern Virginia University’s motto “Learn that Life is Service” resonated deeply with him, impacting him and his wife not only during their time as students but years later as he has served around the world in the U.S. Army.
“SVU provided us direction with ‘Learn that Life is Service’, guidance, and the opportunity to put the motto into practice,” said Johnson. “We center on the mentality that we’re here to serve others, and make the world better in any way we can, no matter how small.”
Johnson learned about Southern Virginia through an institute teacher while attending a community college in Phoenix, Arizona following his mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Having turned down a scholarship to play college baseball to serve his mission in Toronto, Canada, Johnson was looking for an opportunity to play again.
”My institute teacher grew up playing baseball and was really passionate about it, and he said, ‘I think you could go to SVU,’” said Johnson. “I went to an open house, fell in love with it, and knew that that’s where I needed to go. The open house was in March, I committed by April, and then went there the following fall.”
During his freshman year, Johnson met and married his wife, Jordan, and they had their first child during their sophomore year. Although his original goal was to play professional baseball, he felt that he needed to do something different to provide for his growing family, and he decided to join the ROTC program through Southern Virginia’s partnership with the Virginia Military Institute.
”The army was the way to go for me. I was very athletic and I liked working with teams, and the army is very much like that,” Johnson said. “The army also espouses the values that I believe, and I get to be a leader and take care of people.”
Johnson and his wife’s last two years at Southern Virginia University were busy. They worked as resident coordinators together in addition to Johnson attending ROTC, playing baseball, working as a security guard at night, and serving in a bishopric.
“SVU gave us opportunities to constantly serve and find ways to help,” Johnson explained. “The heavy lifting we did at SVU prepared us immensely for the demands of army life and further church service throughout the world.”
Johnson graduated in 2011 with a business degree and received the honor of distinguished military graduate from VMI, ranking top 10% in the country out of 6,000 cadets. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US army and headed to Fort Lee in Petersburg, Virginia shortly after graduation.
Since then, Johnson has served around the world in the logistics branch of the army as a supply chain manager, stationed in Germany, Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, the Middle East, and Japan.
“‘Learn that Life is Service’ just stuck with me and my wife, and going and serving in the military gave me the opportunity to serve others,” said Johnson. “I get to help take care of soldiers who are out there fighting and doing the things that are for the betterment of our country.”
Johnson’s current assignment is at Brigham Young University’s ROTC program as an assistant professor of military science. He lives in Spanish Fork, Utah with his wife and their four kids, and they focus on teaching their children that life is service and to help others no matter where they go.