When my daughter, Anne, was about to enter her junior year of high school, she took the Johnson O’Connor tests. She was a great student, and learning seemed to come naturally to her, so one ideal area for future study was not apparent. However, the previous year, she had begun using her love for football as the statistician for her high school football team. (There was a steep and rapid learning curve for that role, combined with more than a few tears!)
Although Anne was strong in math, she knew that she didn’t want to be a football statistician as a career. Yet she loved the sport and cherished the sense of being part of the football family, a fairly unique experience for a teenage girl.
Because I had found great personal benefit from taking the Johnson O’Connor tests nearly 20 years before, I wanted Anne to have the benefit of the unique wisdom their testing provides.
What was some of their advice for her?
Your test results suggest work in a field that uses your rapid flow of ideas. Work that also uses your ability to remember designs, your pitch discrimination, your rhythm memory, and your word learning ability would be especially suitable.”
Following are kinds of work suggested by your aptitude pattern:
· Journalism
· Advertising, marketing, public relations
· Teaching
· Consulting
· Small specialty business
The report went on to explain in detail the significance of her scores in each of the tests and how those aptitudes could apply to her work life or pursuit of fulfilling hobbies.
Lightbulb moment! Combine a love for football with public relations!
She entered the University of Georgia and applied to be part of the Grady School of Journalism with a Public Relations major. And she worked all four years for the Sports Communication Department at UGA.
After graduation, she did full-time internships for two different NFL teams (the Denver Broncos and the Tennessee Titans.) From there, she was hired by the New England Patriots, where she served for four years and was later recruited by the Miami Dolphins as their Senior Director of Football Communications. Today, at the ripe old age of 33, she is the Vice President of Communications for the Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium, and F1 Miami.
Anne Noland at work with the Miami Dolphins. The University of Georgia honored her with their Young Alumni Award in April 2025.
Yes, Anne has many outstanding character qualities that have contributed to her success. But would she have chosen this career path and found a job she loves without the help of the Johnson O’Connor testing? We’ll never know! I am just glad that at a pivotal time in her life, we made the investment.
~Jody Noland
(You can read Jody’s full piece In Honor of Labor Day: “What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?” here.)