We sat down with San Jose-based RC Johnson, who is part of the Technology Leadership (TLP) Program at PayPal. RC is an Olympic trials champion in Greco Roman wrestling and has his PhD in computer science.
Q: What do you do at PayPal?
A: I’ve been at
PayPal for just over two years. I’m currently part of the TLP program, which is a two-year rotational program. Every six months you get to move to a different part of the business, so the program gives you a great view into many different teams within the technology organization. In my current rotation, I’m a Senior Manager for Diversity and Inclusion for technology engagement, working on programs like
Recharge – which is helping women who have been out of the workforce for extended periods of time get back into the workforce. My next rotation will be doing next-generation cyber security detection work with CyActive, which we acquired last March, in Israel.
Can you share a bit about your background?
For as long as I can remember, both education and sports have been really important to me. I grew up in the Twin Cities in Minnesota and went to school at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University. I’m a Greco Roman wrestler, and I went to the Olympics in 2008 as an alternate on the team. In 2012, I qualified for the US Olympic team, but my weight class was not qualified internationally. So, I’m a US Olympic trials champion for Greco Roman wrestling, but not officially an Olympian. I’ve also won more than 20 national and international medals for USA Wrestling.
During my time at the Olympics training center, I got to travel around the world and wrestle in countries like Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, France, Poland, Russia and Turkey.
At the same time, I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Northern Michigan University with a degree in computer science with double minors in math and economics. From there, I went to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS), where I studied bio cryptographic technologies and received my PhD in Computer Science with an emphasis in security. During my PhD program, I worked on everything from predictive and behavioral analysis of malware to secure voice biometrics on mobile.
RC Johnson, US Olympic trials Greco Roman wrestling champion
How did you balance getting your PhD and training for the Olympics?
I had to keep very focused. I was going to graduate school and wrestling full time – twice a day – and at the same time doing research at a think tank focused on security. My professors were telling me to focus on my education, and my coaches telling me to focus on wrestling. After all, I was competing against athletes who were solely focused on wresting and making it to the Olympics and at the same time studying for my PhD, alongside students who were 100 percent focused and dedicated on getting their PhDs. But I knew I wanted to do both – I was passionate about wrestling but at the same time, knew I wanted to get my PhD. I’m glad I pushed through because now I’m Dr. Johnson and also an Olympic trials champion.
RC Johnson, Senior Manager for Diversity and Inclusion for Technology Engagement at PayPal
When you were a kid, what was your dream job?
I always knew I wanted to get my PhD. My parents are honestly my heroes -- they’ve always been there for me and are my strongest supporters. My dad has his PHD, and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. From a young age, I was good at math, science and understanding logical thinking. I’ve always liked puzzles. So, I knew I wanted to do something that involved problem solving – I wanted to be working on solving big problems at a large scale. I’m lucky that I get to do that at PayPal. And being a part of this rotation program is really exciting for me, because I’m constantly learning new things and solving different challenges.
Who were your mentors? What was the best piece of advice they shared with you?
There are several people that I consider mentors, including [former eBay CTO] Mark Carges, my PHD advisor Terry Bolt, [PayPal SVP, CTO] Sri Shivananda, [Director of Technology Engagement at PayPal] Kip Harkness, and most importantly, my parents.
From a young age, my parents taught me to pursue the things I love, no matter how challenging. In fact, they told me to pursue the things that interested me not because they were easy, but because were hard – those are the challenges that matter.
Looking back now, what advice would you give your younger self?
I would advise myself to keep focused on what’s important and not to turn away from a challenge. I’ve always done lots of different things at once, I’ve always had many irons on the fire, and I think I’ve done a pretty good job balancing them all, but it takes a lot of focus. It’s also really important to start with the end in mind. You need to know where you’re going and make sure that all your focus and efforts are going toward that goal.