A stroke nearly struck her down. Now this ‘good little missionary’ from Nebraska is chasing Big Apple stardom.

Karissa Denae Johnson can still remember the indignity of it all — the day her life fell to pieces. 

It came in college, sometime between traveling the country as a childhood performer and traveling the globe as a young adult given a second chance. Between going on mission trips with her  family and writing her first book. Between singing Sundays at Omaha-area churches and pursuing a career on stage in New York City. 

The moment intersecting those experiences came April 23, 2007, the day 21-year-old Karissa suffered a stroke. The Omaha native was mere weeks away from graduating college, with plans to teach and to sing. Without warning, her plans were suddenly thrown into doubt. 

“I was forced to stop, to rest, to push pause,” Johnson recalled.

She fought to regain all that was lost that day. It set her on a mission to make the most of life, to “go, do, be.” Those words are the title for both a newly released song and a children’s book slated to publish this month

It has been a busy time for Johnson, who moved to New York City two years ago to pursue her dreams of being a performer. Despite the bustling schedule and struggles achieving stardom, she believes she is exactly where she is supposed to be.

“This is not just a special season I’m in, this is a special life I’m called to live,” she said. “It’s one of exploration, wonder, fantasy, delight, survival and overcoming trauma.”

***

Performing has been a part of the fabric of Johnson’s life for as long as she can remember. The daughter of a retired Air Force member turned pastor, Kevin Johnson, and a musically gifted mother, Tina Roberta Johnson, Karissa’s exposure to music and performing came early.

Tina Johnson used her musical training to develop her four girls’ talents. Karissa was 2 when she began singing publicly with her sisters. The quartet spent years touring the U.S. as the Johnson Sisters, singing everything from the national anthem to spirituals. 

“That upbringing performing in front of hundreds and thousands helped me find comfort on stages,” Karissa said.

Early on, she said, she also learned the importance of faith and service. Her dad founded Christ Cathedral Church of God in Christ in Bellevue, and her parents regularly took the family on overseas mission trips. “That served as great inspiration and a seed sown in my heart.” 

After a musical upbringing in Omaha, Johnson headed to Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma. She sang as a featured vocalist with the music ministry team, studied international community development and served as a head resident adviser to underclassmen.

But as graduation neared in 2007, the stress reached a breaking point. Earlier in her senior year, Johnson survived a sexual assault. The perpetrator was a teacher-minster in another state she was seeing at the time, she said. Feeling shame and fearing she wouldn’t be believed, she did not tell anyone about the attack. 

Two months later, she was studying in a friend’s dorm room when, she said, she felt an immense sense of dread in her spirit. Her face started pulling to the side. Her arms dangled, incapable of moving. Her speech slurred. A classmate called 911.

She still remembers feeling helpless as the emergency responders carted her out of the dormitory. 

“Here I was a leader on campus and I had students looking at me as I was being wheeled out in this most vulnerable state … I just didn’t want anybody to see me like that.”

Keeping silent about the assault, she learned, was a mistake. “Suppressing and not sharing it is part of what led to the stroke. The stress did a number on my body.” She’s since become an advocate for assault and stroke survivors. 

Her parents brought her home to Omaha to recover — a process that required many months of rehab and therapy.   

“I really dealt with a lot of defeat, depression and devastation,” she said.

Johnson did not graduate with her classmates at Oral Roberts that spring. But she did play a role in the festivities. Despite still working to overcome slurred and stutter-riddled speech, Johnson discovered that her singing hadn’t been impacted by the stroke. She sang praise and worship songs at the commencement ceremony. 

“Singing is what helped heal me,” she said. “That and my prayer life, my family surrounding me and just loving on me.”

Four years after her stroke, Johnson graduated.

“She persevered through the recovery to pursue the dreams in her head,” her father said. “She did not allow what happened to hinder her desire to be all that she can be.”

***

To celebrate, Johnson booked a trip to the United Kingdom. It sparked a desire to see the world. She postponed her plans for graduate studies to take a teaching job in China. While living in China, she vowed to experience all seven continents before turning 30.

She traveled through Asia. Then Australia. Then Africa. Then South America. And finally Antarctica.

“Not many people can say they’ve been to all seven continents, but Karissa would definitely be the one to do it,” said her sister Kinesha Roach.

Back home, Johnson wrote an ebook about her globetrotting adventures, “7 Steps to the 7th Continent,” and became a motivational speaker. Proceeds from the ebook support missionary work domestically and in Ethiopia and Malawi.

She also continued teaching. She worked as a Rose Theater teaching artist and as a substitute teacher in the Omaha Public Schools and Papillion-La Vista school district. Music was her go-to subject.

Through it all, Johnson harbored a dream to perform in the theater. She wanted it so badly that in 2007, mere months after the stroke, she earned a starring role in a local production of “Once On This Island,” but the show was canceled before it premiered.

“I was devastated to say the least,” she said.

More than a decade passed before she tried again. She auditioned and won the part of Deena in a 2022 Omaha Community Playhouse production of “Dreamgirls.” Her work earned glowing reviews and area acting prizes. 

Broadway veteran and Omaha native Ray Mercer served as the production’s choreographer. He was impressed with Johnson’s passion for detail and work ethic. 

“There is something about a hungry, ambitious artist I can recognize immediately,” he said. “I saw that in Karissa.”

Johnson started seriously considering a career as a performer.

“Being able to leave my mark on an Omaha stage was really one of my biggest dreams and greatest desires,” she said. “I wanted to honor the ground at home.” 

Once Mercer learned that she was serious about making a career transition, he joined director Kathy Tyree in encouraging her to take the 1,200-mile leap. Mercer said he knew that “unless she moved to a place where she could be challenged and inspired, she would never be pushed to work at her full potential.”

Like other Nebraskans who have left the state to pursue artistic dreams, Johnson found comfort knowing that others have successfully made the move — people like Mercer. She also liked the challenge. 

In 2023, she packed and moved to New York City.

***

Johnson is still working toward her theater dreams two years later. She pays the bills doing community development work and substitute teaching. She has gained steady work as a background actor in episodic television dramas, including “Law and Order,” and in Spike Lee’s latest feature starring Denzel Washington, “Highest 2 Lowest.” She sang backup for Grammy-winning gospel recording artist Jekalyn Carr on the “Tamron Hall Show.”

She continues looking for musical theater opportunities, while staying open to career paths offstage. 

“Who knows, maybe I will be called to be a director. And I have a writing background, so maybe I will be writing scripts or be a playwright.” 

The inspiration for her latest creative work, the song and children’s book “GO! DO! BE!”, came from her mother. 

Growing up, as Johnson would prepare to leave for the day, her mother would tell her, “Now go be a good little missionary.”

“My mom’s mandate is really what fostered this song into my heart,” she said. “It’s about caring for others, embracing this beautiful world, exploring and adventure.”

The idea for a children’s book actually predates the song. In 2018, Johnson’s mother died, leaving a tremendous void. She felt she needed to do something to give herself a boost. She thought: Why not write a children’s book? The idea got derailed when Johnson contracted COVID-19 early in the pandemic.

“But I really do believe timing is everything, nothing is wasted, and life is full of lessons — whether victories or valleys. I’m so grateful because I’ve learned so much during those five years.” 

“GO! DO! BE!” hit streaming platforms in June. The book by the same name and with the same message should be out in time for Christmas.

Her book is a cross-curriculum resource for teachers. “As an educator, I’m always wanting to extend and deepen the learning. There’s an aspect of geography as it features colorful, vibrant illustrations based off of photographs from my journey around all seven continents.” The song’s sheet music is in the back. 

She has more stories and messages to share. She’s working on multiple books, including full-length books for adults and a “memoir of sorts”, she said. There are new music projects in the works with major artists.

Johnson remains confident she one day will realize her dreams. Back in Omaha, her father shares his daughter’s confidence. 

“People have to pay their dues in order to get their big breaks, and that’s what she’s doing,” her father said. “The best is yet to come.”