- Morgan McConnell
- Mount Vernon Presbyterian School, senior
Morgan McConnell has it covered. She covers canvases with her unique style of painting, covers pages with her creative writing, and covers the community with her volunteer work.
Morgan has been taking art classes for as long as she can remember, and is a part of the art club at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School, which she has attended since first grade. She has always liked painting landscapes and images of nature, and while as a freshman, she found that she could create interesting designs using paper towels.
“It creates a lot of different textures, and I never know exactly what I am going to get,” she said. “Sometimes I really love it, and sometimes I really hate it; it just happens.”
It is not only with her art that Morgan is willing to experiment. As a junior, when she knew the leader of her school’s poetry club would be graduating, she founded a creative writing club.
Each weekly meeting of the club is a forum for students to express themselves. The members share responses to prompts that Morgan creates, and critique one another’s work.
When he was originally approached about the idea, James Campbell, a history teacher at Mount Vernon and the sponsor for the club, knew that if Morgan had set her mind to it, she would do it to the best of her abilities. “She takes care of all the behind-the-scenes things without being the center of attention,” said Campbell.
In addition to being the president of the creative writing club, Morgan has worked on different, school-wide committees. As a sophomore, she worked on the outreach committee that dealt with volunteer service; as a junior, she participated in the unity committee to bring together the older and younger students at Mount Vernon; and, as a senior, she is a member of the communications committee.
“She deals with everything that comes her way, and she overcomes any obstacles that present themselves. She is a top-notch student and scholar,” Campbell said.
Morgan has had many chances to prove her ability to conquer obstacles in her path. At nine months old, she was diagnosed with a rare metabolic disorder which can impact her muscles and vision. This past summer, Morgan spent three months volunteering as an intern with the March of Dimes. “Fundraising and knowing that it could be helping people in similar situations to me is very inspiring,” said Morgan.
What’s Next:
Morgan hopes to pursue a degree in English, and is looking at both small and large schools, including New York University, Elon, Rollins and Syracuse.
This article was prepared by Mollie Simon, a student at Chamblee Charter High School.