Commencement Corner: Mizuho Johnson, Spring 2026 Graduate

Graphic with a blue-toned background featuring a portrait of Mizuho Johnson with dark shoulder-length hair standing in front of a brick wall. A SUNY Empire shield logo appears in the top left, and “Class of 2026” appears in the bottom right with a graduation cap icon.
Photo courtesy of Mizuho Johnson.
Posted On: May 15, 2026

Meet our soon-to-be-alumni, in their own words. This series spotlights graduates on their way to cross the stage—discover what they’re proudest of, and what comes next.

What is your major here at SUNY Empire?

I completed an MA in educational technology and learning design, along with an Advanced Certificate in instructional design and emerging technologies.

What was your favorite class at SUNY Empire, and why?

If I have to choose, it would be Media Literacy in Emerging Technology with Professor Jolie Kennedy. This course was my very first course at SUNY Empire and it had a great impact on both my learning and teaching. As a foreign language teacher at a college, I was not sure how to use AI and other emerging technologies effectively and meaningfully, as they have been significantly changing the way foreign languages are taught. Learning about media literacy and building a solid foundation for how to approach these changes in teaching helped me move forward. This course gave me a strong start in pursuing my degree.

Which assignment or project will you brag about for years?

I had the opportunity to work with the Career Services team at SUNY Empire to help build their Career Toolkit course on Brightspace from scratch as part of my internship.

This was a very meaningful experience for me, and I was able to apply what I learned in the program while gaining hands-on experience as an instructional designer in my final semester. It was truly authentic learning in a real-world context. The Career Toolkit course has not launched yet, but it will be available to the SUNY Empire community in the near future. The fact that this project will help support future SUNY Empire students makes it very special for me!

What does becoming an alum of Empire State University mean to you?

I feel that becoming an alum means continuing to be a part of the SUNY Empire community. Learning online does not always make it easy to feel a sense of community, yet we all supported each other throughout the experience, and it was very meaningful. I would like to stay connected and continue engaging with the community as an alum.

Share your top studying hack:

Canva and Notebook LM are very helpful tools. In many courses, I created mind maps using Canva to visually organize information and ideas. It was quick and easy to use. Google’s Notebook LM was amazing. When I needed help understanding difficult concepts, it explained them in plain English in multiple formats. I especially liked the audio feature, where two hosts explain topics as if they are having a podcast conversation. It helped me understand concepts very quickly. I also used text-to-speech apps to listen to reading materials during my daily commute, which was a great way to use my time more efficiently.

What are your future plans?

While I want to continue improving my teaching practice to better support my students, I also hope to become an instructional designer, where I can design and develop various courses.