New England College is home to truly many great students. Sometimes these students go under the radar and their accomplishments get swept under a rug. Victoria Johnson, a psychology major, has been involved in many activities here at NEC like tutoring, peer leadership, and working as a Resident Assistant. Johnson is also a three-sport athlete as a member of E-Sports, Track & Field, and Cheer.
After graduation, Johnson plans to go home, work, and save money to go to grad school at Saint Cloud State in Minnesota. The ultimate goals is to be a speech therapist. She said NEC has prepared her for the next step by providing great mentors and professors along the way.
“I feel like the staff has helped me and the faculty, like Sarah Gunnery, Alex Walsh, Kathy Simon, they’ve had pointed me in the right direction for speech therapy,” Johnson said.
Johnson was the sole winner of the 2026 Larry Taylor Transformation award, which recognizes one student who has significantly benefited from their NEC experience and has transformed positively during their time at NEC.
Johnson said the award meant a lot because while only being at NEC for 2 years, she feels that she’s been here for all 4 of her college years. The award was announced on the one-year anniversary of her mother’s passing.
“It meant a lot to me because no matter what I do, I’m always proud of it, and I know that she was proud of me and so was my father,” she said.Â
Johnson said when she looks back at her time at NEC, she’ll appreciate that she has met so many new, impactful people.
