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Terry Johnson (’94) was a star athlete at Lincoln Trail College and remains the only athlete to be named All-Conference in baseball and basketball. He is now entering his fourth year as an assistant coach at Purdue. He served as the keynote speaker at the Robinson Mayor’s Breakfast.
Mayor Mike Shimer (‘72) asked Johnson to talk about leadership after Shimer gave his annual State of the City address. Johnson mixed together his experiences at Lincoln Trail College with his points about how leadership can be hard and lonely.
“What better place for me to start that today than right here in Robinson,” said Johnson. “And to get a chance to tell a lot of people how much this place meant to me and how much they meant to me. Lincoln Trail College, the coaches, my baseball teammates, my basketball teammates, Gregg and Julie Brooks family, Don and Melanie Corn Family, and the community of Robinson.”
Johnson talked about how his family raised him, and when he made his official visit to LTC, he wore a three-piece suit because that was what was expected by his family. He talked about the lessons he learned from his family growing up and how LTC enhanced what his parents taught him.
Johnson talked about how baseball coach Tony Vittorio and basketball coach Terry Collins taught him to have a strong belief in himself and how he had something greater inside. He also learned how to set very high standards.
He said that being a student-athlete is hard, and he was very nervous about leaving home, but he quickly found a fit at LTC.
“After my first semester here, being a basketball player and a baseball player, I was able to meet everyone and bring the basketball team and basketball team together. It was like a grand slam to bring different cultures together and we became one big family.”
Johnson said that now, no matter where he goes, he finds a teammate and a brother.
He said he has some principles that he lives by. “Attack it head-on. Sometimes, when people say attack things, people forget to enjoy it. Enjoy every single moment. Strive for excellence. Be great at what you value most.”
In addition to members of the public in the audience, Johnson was joined by some of his teammates and coaches. During his speech, he encouraged the audience to give to Lincoln Trail College.
Johnson was introduced by Andy Corn. He won a contest to be a ball boy when Johnson was at LTC. The two became friends, and Johnson became friends while the entire Corn family.
Johnson was a three-sport athlete at Anderson High School in Indiana and arrived at LTC in 1992. In addition to his All-Conference honors, he earned Honorable Mention All-American recognition in basketball. He transferred to Lamar, where he again played two sports. He transferred a second time to Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, where he was named All-Conference, team MVP, and co-Male Athlete of the Year.
After college, Johnson coached at Fort Wayne and Indiana Tech before coming to LTC as an assistant from 2001-03. He returned to Fort Wayne and then coached at Butler and Ohio State before joining the staff at Purdue.
