Arch Johnson Jr. (75) is a farmer and successful business owner of Eastern Kentucky Tobacco Warehouse, but his biggest accomplishment has nothing to do with crops or currency.
Three of Arch’s four children are now successful doctors. Aaron (02), the oldest, is an emergency physician at the Kentucky River Medical Center in Jackson. His son Courtney (08) is an emergency physician based at Pikeville Medical Center. The youngest child and only daughter, Anna (09), is an internist and general practitioner at Morehead Medical Specialists – St. Claire HealthCare in Morehead.
If you ask them, they will likely tell you they owe their own success to two key factors: Arch’s example and Morehead State University.
The children grew up watching their father grow tobacco and raise cattle on the family farm in Breathitt County. Arch had his children up early and on weekends working with him at a young age. From Arch and their mother, Angela Gail Johnson, they also learned about MSU. Arch came to the University on a basketball scholarship, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history and became a high school history teacher and coach. Angela took classes at MSU and later transferred and became an RN.
Arch and Angela always encouraged their kids to attend MSU and have big goals. Aaron, Courtney and Anna chose MSU for its esteemed biology program, but something their father taught them helped them get where they are today.
“The path to become a physician, it’s really intense and there are times it’s really difficult, and I think you have to have a background of hard work and dedication to make it through and to do well. No matter what field he was in, my dad taught us in his own way how to work hard and achieve that.” -[Anna Johnson]
From tending crops to excelling in the medical field, a strong work ethic has been passed down to a generation of Johnsons. With Morehead State, the Johnson family has something else to pass on: pride in their alma mater as a cornerstone to their success.
“It’s given me the opportunity to pursue my dream of becoming a doctor and it’s obviously given my family the opportunity to pursue their dreams as well. I love Morehead State.” Courtney said. “Every one of us say we wish we could go back and do it all over again.”
