The bullet points on Shawn Johnson's résumé read more like a laundry list of childhood fantasies than that of a shy 18-year-old from Iowa: One gold and three silver medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, winner of Season Eight of "Dancing With the Stars" (2009), two-time guest star of "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" (2008), participant in the Celebrity Softball Game at the MLB All-Star Weekend and appearances on many more talk shows and commercials.
It would be an understatement to call Shawn Johnson a national superstar.
But for Johnson, two years removed from her captivating performance in China, the nouns she wants the public to describe her as hardly show up in the typical profile of one of the world's best gymnasts: philanthropist, movie-lover, devoted daughter and best friend.
In a sense, Shawn Johnson sees herself simply as another typical teenage girl.
When Johnson came to Robinson Hall on Wednesday night to speak for the Tufts Lecture Series, she brought with her a wealth of experience and understanding about making it big in the world of athletics. With a bubbling smile and an incredibly personal demeanor in front of a sizeable crowd, Johnson relayed her tale of struggles in Beijing, overcoming the temptations of Hollywood glamour and the humanitarian work that has made her so much more than a face on a Wheaties box.
"We had a feeling that Shawn would be a very popular choice, and it turned out that the tickets sold out in a couple days, and she fit all of our criteria," said senior Jon Cohn, the co-chair of the Tufts Lecture Series. "She was great. We wanted someone who we thought would draw a crowd, someone who we thought all the students would want to hear speak and someone who could get the students excited when they came to campus."
Most everyone with a television or an Internet connection two summers ago heard of Johnson's gymnastic accomplishments. Highly touted as a favorite to win five gold medals at age 16 in 2008, the young captain of the U.S. team led her country to a runner-up finish, just behind a controversial Chinese squad. Individually, Johnson took first in the balance beam and silver in the floor exercise
Her proudest achievement came not when she captured the gold on the beam, but when she took second in the individual all-around competition. After completing the first three events in what she saw as flawless form, Johnson walked to her last event and glanced at the scoreboard, noticing that she was in fifth place. The unthinkable went through her mind at that moment, something she shared openly with her collegiate audience — that she felt the desire to give up.
Mathematically, Johnson was eliminated. After coming to the revelation, though, that continuing was her duty after being picked by her country, she rebounded in the final event to take silver
"That was my gold medal," she told the crowd of 175 students and fans. "I won to myself and did the best I possibly could. That meant more to me than anything.
Johnson's charm and celebrity status were parlayed into an appearance on "Dancing With the Stars," a totally different challenge. Trading in her leotards and balance beams for sequined dresses and two-steps, Johnson learned the importance of surrounding oneself with strong influences, something she conveyed throughout her speech at Tufts.
"When I was in L.A., I never realized it," Johnson told the Daily, when asked about getting sucked into the allure of Hollywood. "I was a part of the lifestyle, I was a part of the red carpets and everything. But when I got home and I didn't have all of that, it showed to me that I got wrapped up in it, and I didn't stay true to myself. So it was a big lesson learned, and it was the only moment in my life when I didn't have it. All it took was coming home to see it."
Talking to Johnson, even for a few minutes, reveals a humble teenager in love with her position to helping others. That is, after all, why she travels around the country, giving talks to groups like the Girl Scouts in an effort to help spread her message of determination to others. It's the reason why she's a spokesperson for breast cancer awareness, works with a children's hospital and is an avid supporter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Most recently, Johnson was named an ambassador to UNICEF, which she named as her biggest accomplishment.
"I was confused and lost a year ago," she said in the lecture. "But now I get to do what I love, which is help people."
Johnson's character and devotion to her work is perhaps most embodied in a quote she shared with her audience. The quote, which she said is written everywhere, advises to "follow your heart, and you will never be let down."
Even though Johnson is 18 years old and consequently younger than probably all of her audience at the event, members of the crowd deemed her speech a success. It was perhaps a surprise for those who came hoping to see the cute gold medalist.
"I was watching the Olympics — and who didn't have a little crush on her? — so I decided to go," junior Gordy Jenkins said. "I thought she did very well. She didn't seem very nervous or anything, but maybe that comes from being on the athletic scene. She came off very mature. It's funny, getting advice from someone who's younger, but I got out of it that you don't have to dedicate every moment of your day to succeed."
Even when faced with autograph-seeking fans, unrelenting media questions and paparazzi video cameras, Johnson insists that, at heart, she still is the little Iowa native who captured the hearts of America at Beijing.
"I'm just a normal girl," she told the Daily. "The media likes to put up a lot of hype about controversy and competition and being this machine and phenom. I'm just a normal Midwest girl, and they like to make a story out of it."
