The Community School: As a mentor, leader and student, Albert Johnson hit his stride at The Community School

For Albert Johnson, a senior at the Community School, high school has been a time of mentorship, advocacy and pursuing his own style of learning.

Johnson said that because he is transgender and has autism, he struggled to find community and learn in a standard middle school. In his time at the non-traditional high school, however, Johnson said he has come into his own.

“It’s kind of weird looking back and just considering how different I am,” Johnson said. “I’ve been able to go through a lot of self-growth.”

Johnson said he has benefited not only from the school’s accepting atmosphere, but also its practical, student-driven learning model. Sara Reijonen, Johnson’s adviser since his freshman year, said Johnson has thrived in the environment.

“If I had to say who we thought we designed the school for, Albert would be the person I would say,” Reijonen said. “(He) made the brave choice to just come do something different.”

Johnson has also branched out academically by taking one Running Start class during his junior year and enrolling in the college courses full time his senior year, and Reijonen said she has been impressed with Johnson’s ability to handle the difficult course load.

She also said Johnson is a “builder of community” among his peers.

“People go to Albert for help with their work,” Reijonen said. “People go to Albert for help with what’s going on in their lives. People go to Albert to just have that sense of belonging and trust and love.”

Since his freshman year, Johnson has been chosen to promote the school and mentor prospective students as an ambassador.

“I wanted to show – especially students in the LGBT community – that there was a place that they could go where they could actually focus on doing school rather than just surviving in an educational setting as a queer person,” Johnson said.

The senior has also strived to make a difference through advocacy and activism. Through one of his classes, Johnson has traveled to Olympia twice to speak with legislators on issues related to health care access.

“It makes me feel like I’m actually doing something for our current political landscape,” Johnson said.

Going forward, Johnson has a few potential paths. While he said he has a passion for art and previously attended the Ox-Bow School of Art summer program, he doesn’t see himself immediately pursuing it as a career. Instead, Johnson plans to either attend Bellingham Technical College or British Columbia Institute of Technology to become an MRI technologist or pursue a political science degree at the University of Washington.

“We’re just proud that he has a couple different options and weighing those options and making great decisions for himself,” said Laura Zulliger, Johnson’s mom. “We are confident that he’s ready to go forward as an adult in the world.”

Meanwhile, Johnson said he feels accomplished in light of his upcoming graduation.

“It’s nice to be able to graduate and see everything that I’ve done and all of the things I’ve worked so hard for kind of fall into place,” Johnson said. “I’m also just proud of myself for trying very, very hard.”