For the second year in a row, Cheryl Johnson, 60, of Bridgton, walked dozens of miles down Route 302 on Sunday, in an attempt to raise awareness about her mushrooming student loan debt.

Dressed as “Mish the Mushroom,” the main character in her children’s book, “Mish the Mushroom Man,” Johnson walked 24 miles from Bridgton to the parking lot of the Hannaford supermarket in North Windham, where she met a film crew from a local television news station that produced a story on her plight.

Johnson had started her walk at her Bridgton home, which is under threat of a lien because of her roughly $110,000 in student loan debt. Johnson’s initial destination was Portland’s Maine College of Art, where she graduated in 2000 with a degree in fine arts, but after meeting the film crew, she decided to conclude the walk – given that her main goal was to draw attention to her plight.

Six months after graduating, Johnson was diagnosed with breast cancer. Financially strapped, Johnson took two deferments on her $38,000 loan, which has an 8.75 percent interest rate. When she began to pay off the loan, her monthly payments had jumped by $130. In the years since, Johnson has paid down about $8,000 on the loan. But because of the high interest rate, her total debt has increased approximately threefold. She said her monthly payment is over $1,000, but she is making no regular payments.

As a designer for Stave, a Vermont-based wooden jigsaw puzzle company, Johnson does not earn enough income to pay off her loans. More immediately, Johnson is keen on maintaining ownership of her home. Her student lender frequently demands payments of $2,000 to $4,000, and backs up the demand with a threat to a place a lien on her home.

Last year, Johnson walked 35 miles in her mushroom costume, before collapsing at Westbrook’s Hawkes Plaza. Her husband, Chris DeCapua, proceeded to give her a ride into Portland, where Johnson walked the final stretch to her alma mater. Johnson raised $2,500 from the 2014 walk.

Although Johnson did not make it as far this year, and chose not to raise any money, she said she thinks the effort was a success.

“I wanted to get the media attention,” Johnson said. “When I achieved that I was feeling very, very like I had accomplished a goal.”

Johnson said she is unabashed when it comes to protesting her out-of-control student debt.

“There are thousands of people like me, hundreds of thousands of people,” Johnson said. “I’m not afraid to look silly in order to get attention or make a point. Maybe I’m going to be a spokesperson for these people.”

Cheryl Johnson walked 24 miles from her home in Bridgton to North Windham Sunday to protest her mushrooming $110,000 student loan debt. Johnson dressed as “Mish the Mushroom,” the main character in her children’s book, “Mish the Mushroom Man.”Photo courtesy of Cheryl Johnson