Andre Johnson looked into boarding school on a whim. “I had good grades in public school, a lot of friends … it was one of those leaps of faith.” He heard about Church Farm School through the Hillocks family, whose son Matthew was also applying. “I visited and liked it. Matthew and I were competing for the same spot; thankfully we both got in.” Andre matriculated to Church Farm School as a 10th grader, leaving his family behind in Sicklerville, NJ. He immediately bonded with Mr. Jeff Holton, and the various animals that resided in his classroom, including a 37-year-old turtle named Jaws, fish, iguana and various snakes. “I love working with reptiles. It’s something I’ve done all my life.” Andre even has his own YouTube channel where he scours the CFS campus “Crocodile Hunter”-style, reporting on his finds. “The first year I was here, there were a lot of boards outside that I would lift up to find snakes.”

Andre’s interest was first spurred as a child visiting Gatorland. “I like researching and figuring stuff out about biology and how to catch stuff in the wild.” He will continue this interest as a freshman at Juniata College, where he is majoring in herpatology and ecology. “They have a professional herpetologist on staff who takes his students research trips to perform case studies,” Andre says.

Besides reptile-handling (he founded the Animal Club at CFS), Andre enjoyed art, digital photography, tennis and hanging out with his little brother, Austin, who came to the school as a 9th grader in 2015-16. He’s also learned some skills he believes will serve him well at Juniata. “I can cook a few things. I know what I’d like my schedule to look like and how I study best.” Andre’s dream job is to work for National Geographic, but he and his brother also have an idea for a show that they want to pitch to a network someday. While details are being kept under wraps for now, he will admit it is Godzilla-alien themed.
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