April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
ACTIVE TEEN
Match point for Morgan: sports, hard work, faith
Match point for Morgan: sports, hard work, faith
Morgan took the high road: She just practiced harder. Today, she's a base on the cheerleading squad -- which recently recognized her with a scholar/athlete award.
"I can never quit anything," declared Morgan, 17, offering the example of physics -- a tough science class she knew she could drop last autumn, but decided to see through.
Morgan spends her early mornings and afternoons practicing tennis, lacrosse or cheerleading; her nights studying and exercising; and her weekends covering high-school varsity sports for her local newspaper.
She also volunteers at her parish, St. Jude the Apostle in Wynantskill. In between, she still finds time to go sledding with her friends, counsel peers, boost the self-esteem of her niece and clock eight hours of sleep.
"Sometimes we wonder how she can carry it all," said Morgan's mother, Hollis. "She goes the distance to prove she can."
Morgan's involvement in sports has shaped her into a leader and a fighter, according to the teen herself. Her faith guides her and grounds her when her teammates take a game too seriously.
Christian competition
Morgan's coach describes her as "fierce" on the lacrosse field, but she says she manages her emotions well.
"Sometimes I just take a step back," she told The Evangelist. At a recent game against a rival team, for example, the anger among opposing players led her to pray: "God, please help these people not kill each other."
Morgan started playing lacrosse in seventh grade while balancing long distance track. Today, she plays for the Capitalland team in addition to her school team.
She also played basketball in the beginning of high school until she contracted mononucleosis -- but by then, she had discovered tennis, her year-round passion.
Now, Morgan plays singles for the school tennis team in the fall and practices at Tri-City Fitness on Mondays. During summers, she competes in U.S. Tennis Association tournaments, attends a week-long tennis camp and works with professionals at a resort for another week -- all while juggling a job a catering company.
"I take tennis very seriously," Morgan said.
The dedication pays off. She worked her way up to top player on her school team this year and was named most dedicated to tennis and most valuable player.
"She's the first one on the court and the last one to leave," said Derek Minkler, her coach in both tennis and lacrosse. She asks for extra practice and separates herself from teammates if they fool around.
Boosting others
Morgan takes that work ethic off the court. During the day, she plays oboe in the school band and studies college-level French. At night, she looks over her class notes in addition to normal homework before heading to the gym, where she runs a mile and a half while praying.
She lifts weights and repeats partner exercises with her best friend, Erin Grogan. Morgan checks Erin's homework before they leave, too. On the tennis court, she helps Erin improve her game, often teaching her how to achieve a better spin on the ball.
Erin says her friend helped her develop confidence when they met in seventh grade. Morgan stepped up to introduce a new student to the school the following year.
She has also influenced the self-esteem of her niece, Mollie, her elder by three months. Mollie was born with schizencephaly, a rare developmental birth defect that left her body weak on one side and delayed her development and speech and language skills.
Mrs. McEvilly says Mollie started walking because she mimicked Morgan.
"There was a reason I had Morgan," said Mrs. McEvilly, who was 39 and told she could not have more children when she gave birth to Morgan.
Morgan serves as Mollie's protector and cheerleader -- encouraging her to order for herself at restaurants, for instance.
"Morgan's always telling her she can," Mrs. McEvilly said. "She's an advocate for everybody."
Morgan has applied to 15 colleges and plans to study clinical psychology and pre-law.
"I just want to help people," she said, adding that she'd like to earn advanced degrees: "I think most people want to get out of school, but I want to stay in college as long as possible."
Faith in action
Morgan is also unapologetic about her beliefs. When she was 14, she blew the whistle on two youth group leaders who described a sexual encounter to the teens.
After she attended a National Catholic Youth Conference, she bought a shirt with a saying about Jesus and wears it to school regularly.
As a result, "people bust on her sometimes," Erin said. "But she's not embarrassed to wear it."
According to Erin, Morgan often recruits friends to come to Mass at St. Jude's or volunteer with her at vacation Bible school or parish carnivals, but doesn't force her beliefs on others.
"She's not afraid to be involved in the Church," Mr. Minkler said, naming Morgan's faith as a unique and brave characteristic in the teen. "Nowadays, kids don't do that enough anymore. To me, that's just different."
Morgan says her faith makes her grow closer to her family, and homilies give her the energy to face a new week.
"God is always watching and can always help you do what you want to do," she said.
Morgan has helped St. Jude's cook at and deliver food baskets to St. Joseph House, sold soup to parishioners on Ash Wednesday and led small groups of younger youth group peers.
The first year she volunteered at the vacation Bible school, she pulled an all-nighter to research age-appropriate games for pre-Kindergartners through six-year-olds. Last summer, she learned the music and movements for eight songs and taught them to the children.
Currently, Morgan helps elementary children with crafts during Sunday Mass and serves as a first-grade catechist aide.
"It's really fun," she explained. "They like when we read stories. I just think it's so precious. They come in with a smile on their face."
Helping at the class has made her understand children and their thought processes, she said.
"She's developed many years beyond what she is," said Patti Mugrace, co-coordinator of faith formation. "She's got a great spirit and enthusiasm. She wants to be there doing no matter what it is."
Morgan's coach says she even accompanies her father to Civil War reenactments. "She knows it's important to her dad, so she gets involved," Mr. Minkler said.
"Anything you ask her, she's there," Mrs. Mugrace said. "She's the type of kid that every parent wished they raised."[[In-content Ad]]
250 X 250 AD
250 X 250 AD
Events
250 X 250 AD
Comments:
You must login to comment.