Cory Johnson, Communications Intern (he/him)
I was working as the local newsman in rural Mississippi, flipping through arrest reports in my sweaty apartment tucked between a Church’s Chicken and storage unit full of Little Debbies, when I felt a pull to something more. Pretty soon I was down an internet rabbit hole where JVCNW kept coming up. I scoured this very website and was hooked. It put a name to my longing for community and what I thought were competing affinities for faith and justice.
I soon traded in the Gulf Coast waters for the high desert of Idaho, where I served as a rental assistance case manager. I fell in love with the music scene, greenbelt, and fry sauce while being adopted by some Boise parents and grandparents. With “Give Yourself to Love” perpetually stuck in my head, I signed up for a second year, in Anchorage, Alaska, as an environmental justice advocate. In those long winter nights, our community of four guys encountered the rich wonder, love, and resolve on the land that sprang the JV movement.
Now serving as the Vision & Call Communications Intern, I am so fortunate to listen to and elevate the stories of this broader, multi-generational community. My favorite side quests include gawking at mountains or live harmonica solos, savoring a double scoop in a waffle cone, petting other people’s dogs, scheming with my grandpa back in Ohio, getting lost on my bike, cheering on my alma mater Mizzou Tigers, urban farming, and writing letters to friends, lawmakers, and a prisoner pen pal.
Want to contact Cory? Email him here.
This internship is supported by the Vision & Call program of the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust.
