Joshua Johnson

Joshua Johnson, an ambitious young man from New York City, had always dreamt of going to college. But when his acceptance letter came from Penn State University, he realized he was never going to be able to afford it. His mother had lost her job years before and they had been living in shelters ever since. So Josh decided he would raise the money he needed by tap dancing on the subway. He danced for hours, holding out his hat for donations. Eventually, he collected enough money to cover his freshman year of college. But to pay for future years, Josh would take a five hour bus ride to New York every weekend and raise more money by tap dancing on the subway. Now in his junior year at Penn State, he still has to travel to New York every weekend and hopefully raise enough to take him all the way through graduation.

Joshua and eight other dancers will be dancing in a powerful piece by renowned choreographer JT Horenstein. It will be a tribute to the people of New York, as Josh knows, he wouldn't be in college - and changing his life - without them.