St. Paul Johnson has produced many outstanding graduates.  Among them, several graduates in particular stand out because of their unique accomplishments in a wealth of different areas.  One such graduate was Chief Justice Warren Burger.  Justice Burger's story is inspiring because he graduated from Johnson in 1925, proceeded on to college and then later to law school before becoming an attorney.  But it wasn't until 1969 when Justice Burger was appointed to the United States Supreme Court by President Nixon.  In his time, Justice Burger presided over some of the most important cases to ever appear before the Supreme Court including Roe v. Wade.  He completed his service in 1986, fulfilling the longest tenure as Chief Justice in the 20th Century.  Justice Burger died three years later.

Likewise, Governor Wendell Anderson rose up from humble beginnings and managed to accomplish great things as both a Governor of Minnesota and later a United States Senator.  A member of the Johnson High School class of 1950, Governor Anderson later went on to law school and proceeded to spend most of his professional life actively involved in politics both on the state level and on the federal level.  Governor Anderson is still active with his party and has most recently served on the University of Minnesota Board of Regents.

Congressman Bruce Vento, a 1958 graduate of St. Paul Johnson, also served a distinguished career in public service.  As a member of the United States House of Representatives for nearly 24 years, Congresman Vento's passion was to champion the causes of the poor, needy and homeless as well as the everyday worker.  He lived his whole life in the city of St. Paul and never forgot his roots.  As such, the late Congressman Vento is remembered as a compassionate, caring leader who gave his very best to the people he served.