The underlying theme of Joy Johnson's diverse employment record is her unwavering need to serve. Each position she's held in the last 15 years has incrementally led to her current dream job - teaching.
Johnson is in the midst of completing her second master's degree from Lincoln University in Jefferson City. She started her first teaching job at Blair Oaks Middle School and High School in Wardsville.
Johnson moved to the United States from the Philippines in 1999 in her early 20s and joined the military shortly after. Her Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery score was so high, it was recommended she join the U.S. Air Force, where she spent six years stationed in California as a civil engineer.
"(Being in the military) was always my dream," she said. "I enjoy serving, and I was a tomboy growing up. I always played soldier."
For eight months, she was deployed in Iraq, where she split her duties as a civil engineer and working on a tactical team. The base was nothing more than a cluster of tents when she arrived. She was part of the team that basically built the base from scratch, constructing water lines, sewers and barracks.
If there was ever an attack, she was part of the team that made sure everyone was safe and in position.
Her first son, Tyler, was born shortly after she returned from deployment, but California was never a place she wanted to settle down, she said. She missed the country and wanted a more family-oriented community.
After completing two contracts with the Air Force, she moved to Jefferson City and enrolled in Lincoln University, where she earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in environmental science. Johnson was in the reserves Air National Guard for a little over three years but knowing she could still be deployed ultimately led her to leave the guard.
"I loved active duty, but things change," she said. "In the guard I was also deployable, but if I can't deploy then I can't stay in."
She got her first taste of teaching as a graduate student. She taught a soils and environmental science class at Lincoln, a class known for having the highest failure rate.
"Not a lot of students like science," she said. "I enjoyed student teaching at Lincoln and seeing that 'a-ha' moment. I got to see them go from an F to passing."
She was juggling graduate classes while working for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources as a permit writer for water protection and hazardous waste. But her true passion for teaching was realized as a Lincoln student, and her position with DNR didn't have as much teaching as she would have liked.
Johnson took a two-year break from the regular 9 to 5 grind and ran an in-home day care in Jefferson City so she could spend more time with her family.
After that, she said she was ready to pursue her second dream career and is currently teaching science to fifth- and ninth-grade students. She's set to complete her master's in education next spring.
By far her favorite part is being around the students.
"I had one student hug me and said, 'Thank you for being my teacher. I've never gotten an A on a test before,'" she said. "Those are the things that make me want to do this. Sometimes I think, 'Why didn't I do this sooner?'"
"I've achieved every dream I've had," she said. "I think that's living the American dream. I tell my students, my first dream was being a soldier and my second dream was to teach."
Johnson is married to her husband of five years, Shawn Johnson. They have two sons, Tyler, 10, and Jalen, 3. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her family, and she is a member of Woodcrest Chapel in Columbia and Jefferson City.