1. Photos by Faye Levine
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! It’s 7 A.M. and junior computer science major Christian Johnson turns
off his alarm. But he’s not headed to an 8 a.m. class; instead, he’s beginning his day as co-
founder and CEO of Maplegrove Partners. Johnson established the company as a high school
student in Buffalo, N.Y., to provide IT and consulting services to small businesses. Since then,
he has expanded the business to include webhosting and networking services, too.
Once out of bed, Johnson remotely logs into his clients’ systems to resolve small prob-
lems and sort through an inbox full of emails.
“My calendar is pretty much laid out to every half hour throughout the week,” Johnson
said. “It’s very fast paced, and it’s very exciting.”
At noon, Johnson heads to class, which he credits with expanding his technical skills. As
one of the first students to enroll in the university’s Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for
Students (ACES), a living-learning honors program supported by the Northrop Grumman
Foundation, Johnson embraced the unique opportunity to influence his learning experience.
“I was really privileged to work with students and have a major role in shaping what the
ACES program looked like,” said Johnson, who served for two years as the program’s board
president. “ACES is having a big impact on training a talented pipeline of security specialists.”
When his classes are over around 4 p.m., Johnson may go see a client—but not as
CEO of Maplegrove Partners, as a cyber software engineer at Northrop Grumman Corp.
or a growth hacker at Gallup. Through ACES, Johnson met and interacted with the CEO of
Northrop Grumman, and after an ACES kickoff event in 2014 the company offered Johnson
a position. How does Johnson manage it all?
“I use a lot of remote systems because I am working with so many different companies
throughout the day,” said Johnson. “It doesn’t really matter where I am. If you give me a key-
board and an Internet connection I can do my work.”
At 6:30 p.m., Johnson sits down with friends in the dining hall for dinner. In addition,
once or twice a month he co-hosts Cyber Frontiers, a podcast he launched in 2014. Johnson
branched off from co-hosting another podcast called Home Gadget Geeks to discuss hot
topics in cybersecurity and “big data” on Cyber Frontiers—from the Ashley Madison Leak
to the pros and cons of Windows 10 software.
With a busy schedule and hectic lifestyle, Johnson unwinds by challenging a friend to a
game of chess or playing concert violin. And he lives by a refreshingly simple motto.
“Always make your bed in the morning,” he said. “Then, if nothing else goes well during
the day, at least you have done that right.” ■ –rachaelromano
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN
Undergraduate CEO
CEO
ON THE GO
Christian Johnson’s bag (above) reveals how he keeps up
with school, work and clients no matter where he is.
Paired with a keyboard, Johnson’s tablet (1) doubles as a
laptop and a display. An Ethernet cable (2) is the answer
to lack of WiFi or poor phone (3) reception. A USB cable
and outlet adapter (4) connets his devices and keeps them
running. His graphing calculator (5), he says, has “gotten
[him] through a lot of classes.” A video cable and a bow tie
(6, 7) ensure he’s ready to plug into a projector and give a
presentation at a moment’s notice. And when he has a few
moments between classes, work and activities, he grabs a
snack (8) — Life Savers are his current go-to — and keeps
up with technology industry trends (9).
STUDENT PROFILE
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24 ODYSSEY Spring 2016