At St. Ignatius, Derek captained his crew team, and also won a National Championship. His boat went on to win the Princess Elizabeth Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. He was also a member of the U.S. Junior National Team in 2005, and won a World Championship.

Derek is currently a freshman in Jonathan Edwards College. He intends to be an Economics major, and after college would like to be an investment banker. Derek's father Brian Johnson, rowed on the Harvard crew team.