Meet Johnny
Johnny Vrba hails from Geneva, Illinois, an hour away from his favorite city in the world, Chicago. Which is strange considering he chose to study across the country at Arizona State University where he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Management and a certificate in International Business.
At nineteen, Johnny became a founding father of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at ASU, led his fraternity to becoming the fastest growing SAE chapter in history, and spearheaded SAE’s inaugural Climb for a Cause summiting Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, one of the seven summits of the world, in support of the JP McNicholas Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (Live Like John). Johnny shot, edited, and produced a documentary of his climb to the roof of Africa which raised tens of thousands of dollars for pediatric brain tumor research. As a sophomore, Johnny taught WPC 101, an introductory business course, to twenty freshmen.
As an upperclassman Johnny was a founding member of the nonprofits Consult Your Community (CYC), which offers free consulting work for local businesses and Sun Devil Dance Marathon (SDDM) which raises money for the Phoenix Children’s hospital. The spring semester of his sophomore year, Johnny’s thirst for adventure led him to apply to the world’s most intense study abroad program, Semester at Sea. Disaster struck two weeks into the voyage when the coronavirus broke out. After 73 days and a rollercoaster of emotions Johnny retold the stories to his mom who said, “You could write a book!” So, equipped with a sixth-grade writing level Johnny set out to write his first book.
When Johnny is not busy changing the world through the power of the Holy Spirit, he can be found starting an overly expensive hobby and then questioning this decision. Some of his talents include speaking, making a scene, and engaging in taboo conversations with strangers. Some of his greatest weaknesses are slowing down, multi-tasking, and spiders. Johnny currently serves as a Catholic missionary with Saint Paul’s Outreach at the University of St. Thomas.