Donor Spotlight: Rashod Johnson

Donor Spotlight: Rashod Johnson
President & CEO for Ardmore Roderick 
LINK Donor

We’re proud to shine the Donor Spotlight on Rashod Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ardmore Roderick, a national infrastructure engineering firm headquartered in Chicago. 

Although Rashod wasn’t a LINK Scholar, many of his high school friends were, so he knew about LINK. “Seeing the impact LINK had on some of my classmates was really the impetus behind me wanting to be more involved,” he said. “With LINK, you take students who ordinarily would not be able to go to these schools, and they not only attend, but they really excel—and once that happens, it sets them up for a host of options collegiately and then professionally as well. Another big thing about LINK is that they pair people with Mentors, so Scholars can see what they can become and what they can achieve.”

Rashod has had the benefit of a number of mentors in his life—in high school, college, professionally, and even now, as a CEO—so he knows the value of mentorship. “Frankly, one of my biggest mentors is my 14-year-old daughter,” he joked. “She consistently tells me about all the wrong things I’m doing and makes sure that I’m kind of keeping the straight and narrow!”

Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Rashod graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep and then attended the University of Illinois–Champaign/Urbana. He struggled in college and took seven years to earn his bachelor’s degree. “I got kicked out twice,” he admitted, “but I finally earned my BS in civil engineering. Once I got out into the workforce, though, I quickly realized I didn’t know enough, so I went to night school to get a master’s degree.”

“Going to graduate school helped me grow up,” he said. “It forced me to learn and pay attention because I wasn’t in it for the grades anymore; I was in it for the knowledge. I needed to know and understand structural engineering and how to do it better because I was designing things that needed to be right. I also felt like, as one of the only African Americans in my company, that I was a representation. Everyone was looking at me, and I felt like I hadn’t fully prepared myself as an undergrad.”

After Rashod earned his master’s degree, he started his own business. However, still feeling like he wasn’t adequately prepared, he went back to school again and earned a master’s in business in an executive MBA program at the University of Notre Dame—all while working full-time and running his own firm. 

“For me, education has always been at the forefront,” he remarked. “I remember my grandfather saying years ago, ‘They can take your freedom; they can take your family; they can take your money; but no one can ever take away your education.’ Education was always of the utmost importance in my family, and quite frankly, it was my pathway to success, both in business and in life.”

Beyond education, Rashod believes in entrepreneurship—although he cautions that it’s not for the faint of heart. It requires sacrifice and struggle and hard work. In offering advice to potential entrepreneurs, he said, “No one ever really asks me about the struggles of my company. All they see today is a hundred million dollar engineering firm and a Black man on top of a company that he founded 19 years ago. But struggle is part of the process. Sacrifice is part of the process. You’ve just got to be able to get through it, to maintain, because times will be hard. And then times will not be hard. So perseverance is probably the biggest key.”

“And there’s no such thing as the right time to start a business,” he added. “There’s always an excuse. There’s never enough money. There’s never enough time. There’s always family. There are always other things. There’s always going to be something in the way. So you just have to start the business and figure it out.” 

“My parents sacrificed to help me start my business,” he described. “They took loans against their pensions. They took their future and gave it to me so I could be successful. That pressure was motivation for me; it forced me to really hustle. And they also taught me that to whom much is given, much is required—not expected, but required. I have been extremely blessed in my life, and so I feel as though it’s my duty, my requirement, to make sure that I bring up the next generation of entrepreneurs. I believe that one of the best pathways to Black wealth is through entrepreneurship, owning your own firm and working for yourself. So I consider it my duty to give back and make sure that we can help to set up the next generation for success.”

Thus, one of the primary reasons Rashod is a LINK donor is because he believes in the LINK mission—it matches his own personal values and mission in life. “I’ve always said that I want to redefine and change the narrative on Black business in America,” he explained. “We need to help to set up companies that are sustainable, that can grow, that have access to capital, and really make an impact in America in terms of Black business ownership. When I met with Dr. Gunn, we had a conversation around how we can prepare the next wave of Black students and entrepreneurs, and again, quality education is at the forefront of that.”

“And just because you don’t have the money to pay for it doesn’t mean that you don’t have the brains to participate,” he summarized. “And if you have the brains to participate, then LINK and other donors such as myself now have the responsibility to make sure that we pay for it and give these students the opportunities to be successful. That’s extremely important in our community—and that’s why I’m a LINK donor.”

Thank you, Rashod, for your belief in and faithful support of the mission and impact of LINK Unlimited Scholars!