In 2013, Morgan was diagnosed with cancer, lived in two different countries, beat cancer, had multiple surgeries, got married and applied for college. It was one crazy year to say the least and the last thing he thought he could do was go back to school. School was never his thing. So we made a deal, he would start school and we would take a few classes together as I finished my degree so he could learn the ropes and get back into the routine of a student with no expectations to declare a major.
The amazing thing is how quickly Morgan was able to catch on and became an amazing student. It was so fun to watch this guy navigate school and discover his passions and develop his talents.
Navigating school, going back for cancer scans, working full time and learning how to be a married man is no easy feat let alone adding the pressure of trying to figure out what you are going to be doing for the rest of your life… Some people are born knowing exactly what they aspire to be or do for the rest of their lives, Morgan was not one of those people. He started with taking classes that would go towards his generals, then ventured into business oriented classes and after a few of those, we excitedly went online and declared a major… Small Buisness Ownership…
A few semesters later Morgan realized that he was more interested in the financial world that the HR world of business… More specifically, Accounting.
** Queue the change in Majors and a new road map to graduation**
The shift set Morgan a few semesters back but as they all say, “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” I could tell that finance was something that infatuated Morgan, he was excited for his classes and excelled in his work and I couldn’t have been happier for him. It was about a year later that Morgan’s new passion for the stock market and investing blossomed into the next and final change in Majors.
Financial Planning. – If I thought that Morgan has a passion for accounting, his passion for financial planning, investing and everything that goes along with it lit his fire like nothing ever had before. Luckily, all the previous classes before were not all for not, they accumulated to an Associates Degree in General Studies *AND* an Associates in Business but most of all they led Morgan to what really intrigues him and excites him when it comes to his future career.
I am so incredibly proud of him, taking blind leaps of faith and trusting the process, he transformed from loathing the education institution to hungry for knowledge. Purchasing books, learning podcasts in addition to those required for school. This day was huge, as much as Morgan realllly didn’t want to participate in the ceremony, I did not want this achievement to go unrecognized. All the late nights, the finals and frustrating assignments finally amounted to something tangible.
So there we have it, it may have taken a few years but we have a direction and path for him to get to where he wants to be and more importantly, Morgan has found and is pursuing his passion. Although his time at SLCC is over, his time at the University of Utah is about to begin. Here is to the long nights and study sessions behind us and the many many more we have ahead of us…..
Graduation from Morgan’s Account :
I’ve been to a few graduations, this was the second of my own, the first being high school and now this, graduating college. This was something that I really never thought would be happening but there I was, stuck in traffic like normal right outside the Maverick Center with the anxiety rising. I didn’t really want to be there, mainly because I’d already been to a few other graduations. It’s pretty much the same thing, right? Come in, sit down, listen to some speeches and then go get your diploma.
But it was college graduation, I couldn’t not go. We had to get there pretty early, Dell and I walked over to the School of Business booth and got the paper you give the announcers so they know how to pronounce my name, I wasn’t too worried about that since Morgan isn’t too hard to pronounce. After Dell left so she could save seats for my family, I waited until it was time to form a line and shuffle into the building.
I was towards the front of the line so once we sat down, the fun part began, watching everyone trying to locate their families up in the stands, including myself. Once I found my family, we took some time taking pictures of each other back and forth and then sat down and waited for the speakers to start.
The first few speakers came and went and I was ready to have this thing over with, that was until then they introduced someone that I didn’t know was going to be there but felt like a little kid on Christmas morning when they announced him. Malcolm Mitchell, wide receiver for the New England Patriots. I sat and stared and listened to everything he said, I couldn’t believe that a NFL player was twenty feet away from me speaking at my graduation! At that very moment, I was so happy that I didn’t miss my graduation ceremony. After he sat down I hyped myself up for the next fifteen minutes, I was going to go shake his hand and tell him good luck.
My row finally stood up to approach the stage, they said my name, I walked up, grabbed my diploma and walked right over to Malcolm and shook his hand, told him “good luck this season” and went down to my seat. My heart was pounding out of my chest, I couldn’t believe I shook a NFL players hand! I was already excited to be graduating but having Malcom Mitchell there was icing on the cake!
I texted Dell and told her what I just did! She said I should try to get a picture with him after the ceremony in the tunnel! she even snuck a pen to me just in case I could get his autograph! The rest of the ceremony seemed to drag on! But after it finally ended I was on a mission. As we were all shuffling out of the building, I saw Malcolm was in a room with people that were up on the stage. I decided to be brave and run in there and ask for a picture. He was so nice and let me take a picture with him. Not only did I get to shake his hand but also take a selfie with him! I wasn’t able to ask for an autograph but a selfie was enough for me.
I headed outside to find my family and took a ton of pictures with everyone that came to support me. After the pictures, we were trying to figure out where to eat and it just so happened that we were right in front of Malcom Mitchell’s Tesla waiting to take him to the airport! Dell got brave when Malcolm came outside to get in car, she took the program over and got him to sign it. I couldn’t believe how nice he was, taking pictures with everyone and signing so many programs.
It was a great graduation, but I was happy to be out. Now it was time for some food! There’s a cracker barrel right across the street from where we were and nothing sounded better than food right then. We had a great lunch and said good bye to all of the wonderful people that came to support me. It was a fantastic day and I couldn’t have asked for it to be any better.
I am glad it is all over but also excited for what is ahead at my dream school, University of Utah.
