Johnson visits SGA, encourages giving back

Brendan Johnson, S.D. U.S. Attorney and son of S.D. Senator Tim Johnson, made an appearance at the April 16 Student Government Association meeting, where he encouraged students to “do their homework” and cultivate a sense of duty to give back to their alma mater once they graduate.

“When I left the University of South Dakota I found that, particularly when you go out of state, there’s a lot of people who aren’t familiar with USD,” Johnson said. “And there’s a lot of people that will question the education that you received at USD.”

Johnson said he recalled being told at a law school interview he would not be able to compete with graduates of elite colleges like Harvard with a degree from USD.

“Don’t think for a minute that you can’t compete with students from anywhere else in the country,” Johnson said. “What you’ve got is A, a great education here from the University of South Dakota, and B, the work ethic that most of them don’t have.”

Johnson also discussed the importance of refraining from questioning others’ motives in order to improve the quality of discussion, as well as starting a “culture where it is a point of honor to give something back to USD financially.”

Johnson suggested students begin by giving the university “10 bucks every 10 years.”