Kendal Johnson

Leap of Faith

Embracing new challenges as new opportunities to grow.

When you are blessed with academic and athletic talent, it’s easy to get used to success. It’s also easy to develop a fear of failure to the point where you avoid taking any new risks. When Kendal Johnson realized this way of thinking was holding her back from achieving her full potential, she resolved to change her mindset. “I have always been someone who wants perfection to the point where I have no flaws and do not make any mistakes,” she says. Now, she’s learned that failure is a part of learning and improving, and she actively looks for new ways to challenge and better herself. When she doesn’t succeed at first, she uses the opportunity to figure out how to do better next time, and then move on. She’s become much more accepting of herself, and of others, as a result. It’s made a difference, not only in her own performance, but in the performance of everyone around her.

Kendal’s new way of thinking was put to the test when she changed high schools as a junior. “It was a very hard switch to make, and I was nervous about the new obstacles I would face,” she says. But she rose to the challenge, and she made an immediate impact at her new school. In basketball, she’s on track to realizing a personal goal of joining the 1,000-point club. And, according to her coach, when she’s on the floor, her teammates play better, too. In volleyball, she’s having the same sort of positive effect and was honored with the Set a Good Example Award for her attitude and willingness to rally behind and support her teammates.

Her attitude of acceptance not only makes her a good leader in sports; it also makes her an asset to her entire community. Kendal volunteers countless hours to various organizations and initiatives, including visiting with residents at nursing homes, making cards for kids in the children’s hospital, packing backpacks and buddy bags for underprivileged students, organizing events for her church youth group, and supporting special needs students in their own athletic endeavors. She’s an active member of the Athletic Leadership Council, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Sunshine Society, and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), all of which proactively look for opportunities to improve the school and community. In all of it, Kendal has found peace in the fact that being flawless isn’t realistic for anyone. However, if “what you are doing is to the best of your ability, that will always be perfect in God’s eyes.”