For SPH-B undergraduate student and long-time Hoosier Reginald “Reggie” Johnson, nothing is more important than family. And at this week's Indiana University Commencement—on his 45th birthday—he will become the first person on his side of the family to graduate from college, earning his bachelor of science in Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management. That same weekend, his daughter Liv Clements will graduate with her bachelor of arts in from IU's The Media School.
Welcome home
Although Johnson has been a student for four years, he worked as a resident manager on the IU Residential Programs and Services team for 20 years to help support his young family.
“I started working at IU because my oldest daughter [Liv’s sister] was just born at the time and I was looking for steady income,” says Johnson. “I knew some friends and family that already worked in Residential Life, so I applied for the position, and it just stuck. I had no plans of attending as a student when I joined IU.”
Johnson’s initial responsibilities were custodial and grounds maintenance, but his innate talent for connecting with people from all walks of life helped him advance quickly into supervisory positions. Because Johnson’s long-standing employment provided him with a family discount on tuition, IU was an obvious choice when it came time for Clements to consider higher education.
“I could get the discount myself at the same time Liv was enrolling," Johnson says, "So I started seeing what my options would be, and it just came together that we could go to school at the same time.”
Johnson’s full-time obligation to Residential Programs and Services made it challenging for him to attend classes without using up a great deal of his allotted paid time off. When Johnson was admitted to the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington (SPH-B), he started looking into hospitality opportunities on campus that would give him hands-on experience in tandem with his major, a more flexible schedule, and continued steady income. Opportunity knocked in September 2021 when Johnson was offered a position as front of house manager at the IU Biddle Hotel and Conference Center—right after he completed registration for fall classes.
A natural transition
Johnson was thankful for the opportunity to work on campus and continue to regularly interact with the public in a more flexible professional role.
“Hospitality is a 24-hour business, so the hours I would miss during class…I would just go back and work until 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. and that’s how I did it the whole time,” says Johnson. “The ability to go in and work late hours to make up that time so I wouldn’t miss income or use a bunch of PTO was one of the main reasons for going into the hotel industry.”
Clements says having her dad on campus helped both to stay focused and inspired to continue their educational journey and reach the finish line—even when the going got tough.
“I would come over to the house for dinner and we’d both be at the table doing homework, with assignments due at 11:59 p.m.,” says Clements, laughing. “My mom was incredibly supportive. We’ve always had each other’s backs in our family.”
Clements has been blazing her own trail at The Media School: She is one of the founding members of the IU Black Women in Sports organization. In pursuit of her dream to be a sports reporter, Clements has worked part-time for both The Hoosier Network and Big Ten Network , as well as interning last summer for TNT Sports in Atlanta.
Stronger together
Johnson says Clements would often stop by the hotel to check in on him and they would mutually keep tabs to ensure their continued academic success.
“It was easy to piggy-back off her enthusiasm,” says Johnson. “Working in ResLife all those years, I would see a lot of students come in as freshmen and not have someone to connect to…for us to be [at IU], together, made it simple because we have that bond.”
Clements says it was natural to see her dad on campus because “we already do stuff together all the time, so it just made sense we were doing school at the same time.”
When it comes to who is prouder of whom—we’ll call it a draw.
“I know it is our graduation and my birthday, but my daughter is about to go out and do great things, and I want this to be her time to shine,” says Johnson. “I am here to support her as a father and a friend before I celebrate my own success.”
Clements disagrees. “I did the regular path of going to high school and then going to college, but I don’t know anyone else with three kids who has done what he did…it makes it so much more special that we are doing it together, because I don’t think we’d want to do it by ourselves.”
Johnson and Clements look forward to enjoying the summer the way it has always been—together—and though their paths may diverge going forward, their time at IU will always be special.
“IU gave me all the opportunities to raise my family, to grow as a person, and now it’s given me the education I need to go out and explore options and see where I can thrive,” says Johnson. “I’m excited to live life and see what comes my way and support my daughter wherever she wants to go.”
For more stories on SPH-B students, faculty and staff making a difference locally and worldwide, visit go.iu.edu/48bx.