Forging a New Path to Greatness
On Monday, May 21, Wilson High School hosted their Athletic Signing Day for seniors who continuing their athletic career. Meet Cameron Johnson and Hailey Thompson, two of the celebrated seniors!
Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Douglas MacArthur, Buzz Aldrin, Edgar Allan Poe — the list of famous alumni from West Point goes on and on. Wilson High School senior Cameron Johnson will add to that list in the fall.
“It’s chilling to think about how many people came from West Point who have greatly impacted the world,” said Johnson at Wilson’s athletic signing day on Monday, May 21. Johnson is going to West Point on a football scholarship. “I know that I am going to be in the right place to make a difference, and that’s all that matters.”
The 6-foot-4-inch, 215-pound wide receiver earned a 4.25 GPA at Wilson and hopes to continue his high academic achievement at West Point.
“My coach always stresses that it’s about the classroom first, Johnson said. “My favorite class at Wilson was AP Biology, and I think that’s what I want to major in [at West Point]. I want to go to medical school; that’s always been my goal. I definitely want to be a doctor one day.”
After the athletic signing ceremony was concluded in Wilson’s Big Gym, there was cake for all the athletes. Hailey Thompson, who will be sailing for California State University Maritime Academy, or Cal Maritime, is excited to embark on her collegiate sailing journey as she majors in marine transport.
“My friends who were on the sailing team last year from Wilson are now there [at Cal Maritime] and they love it, so I’m really looking forward to joining them,” said Thompson, who adds that she has been sailing since her parents could throw her in a boat.
“I love sailing because it’s intercollegiate and co-ed, which is nice,” Thompson said. “There aren’t as many females as their are males in the sport, however, so it’s great for me to be a young female making an impact, sailing with a bunch of older guys.”
Thompson hopes to drive big cargo ships in the future and hopes to settle down near the port and teach her future children how to sail as well.
“My grandparents sailed, my dad sailed — I have a lot of sailing influence in the family. My grandma and my dad both went to Wilson too!”
When the athletic signing ceremony was coming to an end, Wilson athletic director Jeff Evans prompted the athletes and audience to look around the Big Gym at the commemorative, historic jerseys hanging from the walls, pointing out the fact of just how many great athletes — collegiate heroes, professional athletes, and Olympians alike — originated from Wilson. Evans encouraged the athletes to forge their own path to greatness, just like those Wilson athletes who came before them.
It was indeed a great day to be a Bruin.
