tlj

My name is Trevor Johnson, and I was born in Ventura, CA in 1983. I grew up in Ventura. Although we moved 3 times, but in 1985 my family moved into the house we would end up staying in for 18 years. I went to Mound Elementary school from first till fourth grade. I transferred out due to the teasing I was subjected to. My mom and I chose Grace Lutheran as the school I would spend the rest of 4th, and all of 5th grade in. For middle school I went back to public school, and to Cabrillo, close to where we lived. I ended up going back to a private school for High School, Villanova Preparatory in Ojai, CA. High school was difficult for me at first since I am a very shy person. I graduated in 2001 and was headed straight to college.

I chose the University of Redlands, since it was the best college I got accepted to. Before I was to start I decided that I was tired of being overweight, so I began to pay attention to my diet. I ended up losing 30 pounds or so, and about 4” from my waist that summer. By the end of my freshmen year I was down another 4” and 40 pounds. Freshmen and Sophomore years were spent on campus in Williams and Anderson hall respectively. Junior year I moved out with my good friend Sarah, to Palm Village, just down the street. I decided to get an International Relations degree when I took the Asian International Relations class, second semester, 2nd year. At the same time I began to have an interest in Asian cultures and history. Its something that had been largely skipped over in my past education. I took Mandarin Chinese and got my minor in Asian Studies. College was a great experience and for the first time I enjoyed education. I spent 3.5 years there, finishing a semester early and graduated in December of 2004.

After graduation I wanted to move and examined several places… knowing I wouldn’t want to return to my home town, nor stay in Redlands. I looked at Portland, but ended up deciding that moving out of the state was too much for me at the time. I moved to San Luis Obispo instead, which is about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, near the coast in central California. I moved into Mustang Village, and lived there 6 months. I also got a job at an Air Force Study aide company as a customer service representative. In June I wanted to try my hand at building and selling computers, so I left my job and started Zephyr Concepts. I also purchased a home around this time, down in Nipomo, (20 miles south of San Luis). It is a 3 bedroom 2 bath manufactured home, one floor and about 1700 square feet. I spent a year there just about, and in the summer of 2006 came to the conclusion that I couldn’t make the kind of life I wanted for myself where I was. In August I moved to Washington D.C. Something I swore I’d never do, even though I kind of assumed my major would only be useful here, or abroad. I decided to take an internship with the Human Rights Campaign, or more to the point, was lucky enough to get one. After a month of the internship I was offered a full time position and am now the website coordinator.

I spent a year working for HRC. I went to PA for the 2006 election and worked on the Brian Lentz for state legislature race. Most of my time at HRC was more or less uneventful, there were exciting times, and there were the slow times. Around march I decided I wanted a promotion, so I hunkered down and put my heart into it. By June, when I went on vacation, my devotion was showing and I received new responsibilities and duties upon my return. Things were putting along, we got an intern and hired a new developer. In august my good friend Mark coerced me into applying for a position with his company, Segue Technologies.

I got the new job in the interview, Website Developer. I spent the next 24 hours soul searching. Leave a great job I love for something new, or stay where I am and possibly lose out on some great opportunity. In the end I accepted the new position, which is in Alexandria. Along with a new title (and promotion) came a 56% pay raise. This job change prompted me to move to VA as well, in order to be closer to work… and to save rent.

I lived in Springfield VA for about 4 months. With the increased available income, I purchased a new car. This isn’t the first time I’ve bought a car, or even a new one. It is, however, the first time I’ve done so alone, and bought it outright with my own money I’ve earned. So this is indeed a milestone. In December I began to question my residence… Do I want to live on the east coast or do I want to live in CA? I came very close to moving back to California, very close. I ended up making the decision to stay here a while longer. There are more opportunities here than back in San Luis Obispo.

I moved out of Springfield in an attempt to be closer to work, and to be happier with my living arrangements. A balance between location, environment and cost. January 3rd, 2008 I relocated into Arlington, which I’m enjoying a lot so far. Around the same time, my office relocated to Courthouse, also in Arlington.