After graduating from college, many students launch their careers.

But Amber Johnson, fresh with a bachelor’s degree in literature from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, realized her educational journey must continue.

“After graduating in 2004, I recognized that opera was really my true love and that to pursue any other course would be to betray myself and my talent,” Johnson said recently.

For her, it wasn’t simply a career choice. “It was and is a calling.”

That’s when she returned to school—this time to Highline Community College—to continue her study of voice under Dr. Sandra Glover, adjunct faculty member in the music department with whom she has studied for 10 years.

Johnson’s dedication to a career in music now has earned her a trip to the National Finals of the Music Teachers National Association’s Young Artist Vocal competition in Austin, Texas, this week.

Winner of the Washington State competition, Johnson, a lyric soprano, earned the “alternate” rating during the MTNA’s Northwest Division competition in January.

The competition winner was unable to attend the finals, giving Johnson the opportunity as runner-up. She will compete against the winners of the six other division competitions.

At stake is national recognition and prize money: the first-place award is $3,000; second place, $1,500; and merit awards, $100.

The teacher of the national winner receives $200.

Johnson has been singing for as long as she can remember. For the 24-year-old Highline student, singing is not only an integral part of her life, but of her very being.

“I have never experienced anything remotely like it,” said the Federal Way resident. “Acting I love, traveling I love, food I love, but singing, there are no words to describe it.”

The competition will put her on the biggest stage of her young career.

Born and raised in Puyallup, Johnson is said to have grabbed a microphone during a church service and performed “Jesus Loves Me” at the tender age of two.

Johnson’s first solo performance, she recalls, was when she was about 14, not long after she became hooked on opera after discovering a recording by opera diva Maria Callas.

Besides the legendary soprano, “I love strong female vocalists like Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and Sarah Vaughan,” she said.

Twenty-two years and 2,400 miles removed from that Puyallup church, Johnson will is performing in her first national competition.

In Texas, Johnson will repeat the program she performed during the Northwest Division competition.

The 11-piece program includes one of her favorite songs to sing, “Porgi, Amor” from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.

She will also perform works by Georges Bizet, Isabella Colbran, Arnold Schoenberg and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

At Highline, Johnson is also studying drama. During fall quarter, she played the role of Ruth in the play Book of Days.

That performance earned her a nomination for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship award, given to outstanding student performers at regional festivals throughout the United States.

This quarter she is playing Irina Arkadina in The Seagull by Anton Chekhov.

“Dr. Glover recommended that I take acting classes from Dr. Taylor to further develop skills for my career,” Johnson said.

A drama instructor at Highline since 1974, Dr. Christiana Taylor is the coordinator for Highline’s Art, Drama and Music departments.

After leaving Highline this spring, Johnson hopes to attend the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

She auditioned in February and will find out in the next few weeks if she has been accepted.

“It is a highly respected acting school and would provide a solid foundation for that aspect of operatic work,” she said.