Ethan Johnson, Class of 2003
About being a day student – “There is less structure for day students because we don’t have formal evening study halls. You have to be more organized and disciplined. The other nice thing is that you can decide how to use your time, if you use it well. If you get behind, you’re in trouble.” Ethan came to LWS so he could participate in our world-famous ski program. He was interested in ski jumping but he didn’t want to sacrifice academics.
“It’s really nice to be able to drop two classes (during ski season) because you don’t have to think about nearly as much stuff. It’s easier to deal with when you’re on ski trips, you don’t have as much work to do. Then, when it’s time to make up the classes you missed, it’s really well organized and though it’s intense, catching up can be done. It would be almost impossible if you had to carry all your classes through the season.”
Ethan says he feels connected to the campus even though he’s a day student. “I come up here to Activities, to do study hall or group study sessions such as a recent one in History where we ordered pizza and studied with the teacher. It’s so great to drive up to this campus every day- it’s such a cool setting. There are few places in the world where you walk away from a school and you’re in the wilderness.”
About Sports…. Ethan is an avid mountain biker and he loves to explore all the big trails around LWS such as Red Dirt, Hot Springs, Mad Creek, Lower Bear Creek Trail and more. Recently, he has begun to bike at the competitive level. He is also a favorite to take on camp trips as far as the teachers are concerned because he LOVES it. “Any way I can get out into the wilderness is way cool whether it’s hiking, mountain biking, backcountry skiing – I just love being outdoors because it’s so pretty and there are endless possibilities of what you can do.”
Ethan is becoming a Nordic jumper to watch. He got to travel to the 2002 Olympics and his enthusiasm for the sport is growing by the day.
“As of 2002, I have three Junior Olympic gold medals, three silvers, two bronzes, and many more top tens.. I missed last years JO’s for the third period of the World Cup B circuit. This past season has been my best season ever. I went to the World Junior Championships in Schonach, Germany. I got 32nd, and helped our team get fourth in the team event. I then traveled the entire third period of the WCB in Calgary, Canada and Lake Placid, New York. To learn more about Ethan, check out the WEB site he created during a Computer II WEB publishing project – Ethan’s Site.