College of Human Sciences’ Portia Johnson honored with 2025 Royrickers Cook Endowed Engagement Award

Dr. Portia Johnson, assistant professor and Extension specialist in Auburn University’s College of Human Sciences, was recently honored with the prestigious 2025 Royrickers Cook Endowed Engagement Award, attributed to her ongoing and purposeful commitment to outreach.

Honored during an Outreach and Engaged Scholars Recognition Ceremony in late August, Johnson became the third recipient of the award presented annually to an individual who understands civic and community engagement, interpersonal relationships and serving the underserved.

“I was in disbelief even up until I walked on stage to receive the award because I try to have laser focus and work really hard and then you realize people are paying attention all along,” said Johnson. “I was just overwhelmed really with gratitude.”

Named in honor of Dr. Royrickers Cook, an internationally recognized leader in higher education and Auburn’s Vice President for University Outreach and Associate Provost, the award recognizes a faculty or staff member who demonstrates an ongoing and purposeful commitment to outreach.

“Portia Johnson’s work exemplifies the spirit of this award,” Cook stated in a release. “Her commitment to financial literacy and educational access is transforming lives and communities.”

Johnson’s stellar work and leadership creating the Alabama FAST (FAFSA Application Survival Toolkit) program, which has helped more than 10,000 students and families across 90 Alabama high schools navigate financial aid and college planning were cited as a large reason for her award nomination and ultimately winning the award.

A first-generation college graduate, Johnson launched ALFAST in 2022, combining her expertise in consumer behavior with a passion for educational access. Her work has significantly boosted Alabama’s FAFSA completion rates, especially in underserved communities, and earned multiple national accolades. She is also piloting a new initiative, the ALFAST Career Explorer, to connect students with high-demand career paths.

Among the many individuals Johnson thanked for the continued growth and success of Alabama FAST, Career Coach Mentor Jill Prince at the Alabama State Department of Education was singled out for her support and she attended the recognition ceremony honoring Johnson.

“I would largely attribute a lot of the growth to the career coaches and the schools that really took to the program,” said Johnson. “One of those is Jill Prince who is responsible for managing and supervising the career coaches and she has been an amazing supporter of this program. Without her opening the door to her career coaches — over 100 of them employed by the state department — we probably would not be in as many schools as we had the opportunity to be in.”

As for the future, Johnson will build on the success of Alabama FAST by implementing the Career FAST to help students navigate what their path might be after high school.

“I built more into the program so now it’s five different options of classes designed to last an entire school year,” said Johnson. "So, the first step is getting the FAFSA ID. Secondly, it’s exploring colleges and careers which is the Career Explorer and from there they apply to FAFSA. The next steps are applying to schools, submitting FAFSA and getting offers and acceptance letters from colleges. We then help them compare all these offers and look at the best options available. Finally, at the end of the semester we talk about what campus life will look like and the resources available on campus.”

Reflecting on her time in the College of Human Sciences, Johnson said she’s been set up for success because of the tremendous support she’s received and credited several mentors.