RE Log Fall 2016

FALL 2016 Ransom Everglades LOG 41 Ashleigh Johnson ’12 visited Ransom Everglades before and after winning a gold medal in water polo at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. Cheered on by her mother, Donna Johnson, sis- ter Chelsea Johnson ’14 , and a host of other family, friends, fans and admir- ers, she made nine saves as she and her Olympic teammates easily defeated Hungary in front of a standing-room-only crowd of about 600 during a pre-Olympic tune-up at the Ansin Pool in June. When she returned in September, she re- ceived a standing ovation and roaring cheers on both campuses. She answered questions, showed off her gold medal and gamely attempted taking selfies with the entire Upper School student body from the stage of the Lewis Family Auditorium. She later posed with more than 400 Middle Schoolers on the floor of the gymnasium. Head of School Penny Townsend got choked up introducing Johnson. “When you get to introduce a former student who has done what she’s done and who actually embodies all we hope for in our students, you get emotional,” Townsend later told the media (four televi- sion news stations and the Miami Herald showed up). “She’s an amazing young woman. … What I hope the students took A Golden Homecoming Ashleigh Johnson ’12 returns to campus away is that the gold medal is amazing, but it’s the other things … honoring her mother, the balance she brought to her life, being a hard-working student. “Our mission is about giving more to the world than you take from it, and I think she’s done exactly that.” During question-and-answer sessions with Interim Athletic Director Andy De Angulo on the Upper Campus and Head of the Middle School Rachel Rodriguez on the Middle School campus, Johnson also shared details of her experiences at the Olympics and encouraged RE’s student body to dream big. “At Ransom, I learned to work hard,” Johnson told the Middle Schoolers. “I learned to appreciate the opportunities that I had and to make the most of them, and I learned to reach out to the people around me if I needed help or someone to lean on. “That’s something I really wanted you guys to take away from your experience here – don’t be afraid to reach out to your friends or your teachers or your coaches or your family. If you need help, ask for it, and you’re going to make it as far as you want to go.” “Our mission is about giving more to the world than you take from it, and I think she’s done exactly that.” – Head of School Penny Townsend Ashleigh Johnson ’12 and Chelsea Johnson ’14 with Middle School students