Each day, thousands of gazes fall upon a bronze statue in Fossil Ridge High School’s commons, unaware of its significance.

Behind the Sabercat’s eyes lay the memory of students who have lost their lives, providing a special reminder of one student in particular.

In 2001, Scott Johnson tragically passed away in a drowning accident. A student at Timnath Elementary School, Scott Johnson would have gone on to attend Fossil and would have graduated in 2010. 

 “After he passed away, we decided we wanted to do some sort of a memorial for him,” said his mother, Donna Johnson.

Following his death, Scott’s parents Walt and Donna Johnson set up a $500 scholarship to be given to one Fossil senior each year. While the criteria is minimal, student motivation is taken into consideration during the selection process. 

“We just want them … to be graduates of Fossil Ridge and to be a student who … knows what they want to do and sounds serious enough about their education,” Donna Johnson said. 

Along with the scholarship, the Johnsons decided to have a commemorative sculpture placed in Timnath Elementary School. Through that, Walt Johnson met local sculptor Howard “Blair” Muhlestein, who offered to teach him how to sculpt. 

In 2010, Walt Johnson’s sculpting abilities were put on display when Fossil’s senior class officers expressed interest in having a sculpture created for their  “senior gift,” a tradition in which the graduating class uses funds from prom and donations to give back to the school. 

”This summer, our school had the unfortunate loss of three students- two of whom would’ve been graduating with us this year. We thought a memorial would be a nice way for our class to honor them,” the 2010 senior class officers wrote in a newsletter sent to parents. 

Unaware of his son’s passing, the school contacted Walt Johnson to ask if he would be willing to sculpt a Sabercat statue. When they learned about Scott Johnson, the class officers agreed to have the sculpture created as not only a memorial of their classmates, but of all “fallen Sabercats.”

Despite his prior experience in sculpting, this project proved to be a challenge for Walt Johnson. 

“[The] size of the Sabercat is huge in comparison to anything that I had ever done, and I had merely done things like puppies and small dogs,” he said. 

However, after nearly three years, the sculpture was installed near Fossil’s front entrance during the 2012-2013 school year. 

Today, the statue and scholarship remain as a careful reminder to students of the opportunities they have. 

“I think it’s a wonderful scholarship to remember Scott as well as just a great opportunity for our students who want to pursue post secondary education,” said Assistant Principal and Activities Director Brad Nye. “I want students to … understand that it is a memorial, it’s designed to honor fallen Sabercats … to know that to honor and protect our sculpture.”

After careful curation, this year’s scholarship winner was announced as senior Ryan Ruffer.

“It really means a lot. I am planning on going to UCLA, and cost is a huge part of my decision, and this is definitely gonna help … cut it down, and kind of give me the ability to go to my dream school,” Ruffer said. 

The scholarship will continue to run for the next four years until its planned “sunset,” with the intention of offering the last students $1000 each. 

Although the scholarship will soon be ending, Walt and Donna Johnson remain hopeful for the future of the statue and the meaning it holds. 

“It’s not just as a memorial for Scott,” Donna Johnson said. “[It is for] other students, students who have been lost, students of Fossil Ridge.”