Getting to Know Grant Johnson ’25

Santa Clara welcomed more than 1,500 students to campus during Welcome Weekend 2023. This year's class features students from 41 states and 34 countries around the world, each with their own story.

As our newest Broncos got settled into residence halls, we caught up with a few to get their feelings on starting life at SCU.

Why did you choose Santa Clara?

Two years ago, when I was first looking at schools, my family stopped at Santa Clara and we were just like, stunned. You know how you go somewhere and instantly realize, “This is the place I want to be”? That’s how I felt. It was really pretty and everything just felt well-maintained. I liked the community vibe. The people, the faculty and staff—it seems like everybody wants everyone else to be successful. Also, you’ve got the Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Innovation. The hands-on aspects of the labs there seemed exciting to me. Unfortunately, after that visit I got wait-listed. So I did my first two years at San Joaquin Delta College, but Santa Clara is where I wanted to go, and now all the pieces have aligned for me.

You’re majoring in computer science and engineering. What do you hope to do with your degree?

It’s a great question. I don’t know yet. I'm interested in a lot of different things, whether it’s making heart devices or designing software for games. My end goal is doing something impactful that can make people’s lives better, or more enjoyable. I’m a really creative person, so for me designing would be cool. 

Where are you living, and will you be joining any clubs on campus?

I’m living at University Villas with five other guys. Since I'm coming in here as a junior, I understand that people are gonna know people already—not to say that they're not going to be looking for more friends. For me, I just want opportunities to meet more people and have more connections. I’d be interested in the hiking club. Or joining a volleyball game or a sports game—I would totally jump in and do that. I’d be open to a robotics club, and working with 3-D printing. I did speech and debate for five years, so if they had something like that, I'd be interested.

How about hobbies and interests?

I’d say I'm big into puns, jokes, those kinds of things, and also random fun-fact kind of stuff. A couple of years ago I knew nothing about football or fantasy football. But I got into it and now I have my own league. I can name like, every player, basically, on any team. So it's kind of become a big thing for me. I like video games like Call of Duty and multiplayer stuff because I like that aspect of the  camaraderie. It’s a social thing. 

What excites you most about being at Santa Clara? 

I've been at Delta for two years, mostly online, and before that basically two years of high school was online. So for me, I’m a pretty social person and I'm just excited to be able to get back into doing stuff with other people, having new experiences and, you know, really interacting with all the opportunities here. I'm also excited for some challenge in my classes, to be pushed, to be better.