Weber State senior excels in athletics, neuroscience research
OGDEN, Utah — Ryan Johnson has mastered managing time, whether studying the human nervous system or throwing a discus nearly 143 feet.
He grew up in Morgan and North Ogden, Utah, and has been a track and field athlete since junior high. “I was pretty successful, but not quite to the division one level,” he said. “I was a little small.” However, during a religious mission to New Zealand and Pittsburgh following high school, he said he grew about four inches in height and gained 100 pounds.
So, after enrolling in 2021, Johnson knew he had the size and skill for Weber State University’s track and field team. He has been on the team for four years, competing in 55 meters, shot put, discus, hammer throw, and weight throw. As a captain, he led the team in numerous meets, including the 2025 Big Sky Indoor Championships during the spring semester.
Johnson joined WSU with a scholarship as the principal oboe player in the concert band. “I was the top one because I was the only one,” he joked.
He switched majors a few times before becoming enamored with how humans can adapt, change, and retain information. “It’s one of the coolest things there is to learn in science,” he said. He now majors in psychological science and is earning a neuroscience minor.
Johnson has found ways to connect his studies with his physical activity. He recently worked on a study to see whether mindfulness or physical exercise benefited students in their classes more. He has also worked with Neuroscience Program Director Aminda O’Hare in the lab to study attentional biases to negative information and cognitive processing in individuals with anxious apprehension and anxious arousal.
“The first day of class, when I had students introduce themselves, he said, ‘Hi, I’m Ryan, and I throw things.’ It still makes me laugh,” O’Hare said. “He is not afraid to speak up, and he is able to be personable but professional. We’ll joke around with each other before classes start, and he’ll throw in personal anecdotes when they are relevant to class discussions. It just makes him really easy to work with.”
Johnson will graduate during the spring 2025 semester, following the footsteps of his wife, Amanda, who played on Weber State’s softball team and graduated with her bachelor’s degree in health administration in 2023. She is now a registered nurse and is earning her bachelor’s in nursing.
Johnson said he can easily talk with his Weber State professors whenever there’s a problem, including O’Hare, who has helped him plan for the future. “She’s my favorite professor I’ve ever had,” he said.
Jaime Winston, Marketing & Communications
- Contact:
Bryan Magaña, public relations director
801-626-7948, bryanmagana@weber.edu