Extraordinary Students: Jon Knowles

How One Student Maintains His High School Life While Earning a Fortune

By Kuan Lee

Nov 6, 2018

QUINCY - High school, a time of relentless change. A place where many kids fail to adapt to their new lifestyle, Jonathan Knowles faces this challenge head on.

A proud football player of North Quincy High, Jon, or as many call him, Knowles, does not let this one thing define him.

When the lights shine the brightest, when all his friends and families are watching, Knowles impresses everyone with his performance on the field. His performance on the field is not limited to the football team, though. While the rest of the team rests during halftime, Knowles marches proudly with the marching band. Though some of his friends might tease him, Knowles is proud of his work with the marching band.

He reveals his dad as his inspiration for playing the baritone saxophone (his instrument of choice for the marching band). His dad convinced him at a young age that the saxophone was a superior instrument and Knowles grew to love playing it.

Like with the saxophone, Knowles’s father was the foundation for a lot of things he has done. Mr. Knowles was one of Knowles's football coaches throughout middle school. He also coached Knowles in the Mark Jennings Sacred Heart Basketball program. The father and son duo work at the same hospital as well. His father instilled the idea of “if you talk the talk, you have to walk the walk.” Knowles carried his father's wisdom throughout his football and high school career.

His job at the hospital is not his only source of income. After all, Jonathan Knowles is a high school student making six digits! Knowles took advantage of a new, growing industry. That industry being online gaming, specifically, Minecraft. Making profits off online gaming is very new and most adults do not understand it. Who better to take charge than a teen who grew up playing and loving the game.

When asked how he started his business, Knowles stated he wanted a more enjoyable playing the games. His intent was not for money, but a more pure and childish reason. He felt as though the servers up until that point, were limiting, and the quality was not there for the money he is paying. He and his friends started making their own servers and before even they knew it, they created an empire. When asked how much money he has made, Knowles humbly bragged that he made $20-grand per month at his peak.

How does one high school student manage to do and achieve all these things? The answer is quite simple, Knowles is used to being the underdog. He is used to handling pressure from many different angles. Many see Knowles from the outside. They see a privileged kid with his successful parents and his “All-American” looks.

But Knowles shares with me a different story. Knowles has a younger brother, Josh, who has autism. Knowles grew up taking care of Josh, walking him home, always watching over him. Knowles loves his brother like no one else.

As stated earlier, Knowles’s father plays a significant part of his life. He gave Knowles the gift of life, but he also gave him something else. The Knowles family has the genes to a hereditary disease called Polycystic Kidney Disease or PKD. The disease causes cysts to grow in the kidneys. PKD is treatable, but not curable. Knowles’s father has the disease and has gone through numerous surgeries to fight for his life. Knowles spent a portion of his life watching his father fight a disease that he may very well have. Yet even though Knowles may have the disease, he recognizes the fact that his beloved younger brother might also have this alarming disease. He states that he tries to keep himself healthy so that in the future, if his brother ever needs a kidney, Knowles will be there to donate.

For many people who do not know Jon Knowles, he seems to have it all: the money, the looks, the reputation. But in actuality, Jon is just like the rest of his classmates in high school. All going through the issues that will shape who they are and who they are going to be. Knowles is an excellent example of making the most out of a bad situation. Knowles is a football player, a band geek, a “business owner,” but most importantly, he is a brother, a son, and a friend.