Receiving several awards including Outstanding Senior, West Virginia Wesleyan College graduate Katie Morgan ’25 excelled in academics and service.
At the Academic and Leadership Awards Ceremony, Morgan received the Wesleyan Values Award, the Practicing Restorative Justice Award, the Outstanding Senior in Psychology Award, and the Brad Long Peace Fund Award. On Commencement Day, Morgan graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology.
She did all this while navigating the campus, her studies, and service as a blind person.
Morgan is from Monongah, West Virginia, a community outside Fairmont about an hour’s drive from WVWC.
“I chose Wesleyan because I knew it was a small school and a small campus, which would mean it was easy for me to navigate as a totally blind person,” she said. “It was emphasized at Wesleyan that you would get one-on-one attention from your professors and they would be able to help you.”
Going away to college wasn’t without concerns for Morgan.
“I had heard stories from other blind people who went to colleges, about how they weren’t accommodated or that professors wouldn’t give them what they needed,” she said. “I am also a first-generation student. Neither of my parents graduated from college. Would I even be able to do the work? Compounding that, as a blind person, I definitely had a lot of concerns about how well I would be able to do in that environment.”
WVWC has The Learning Center – something Morgan used throughout her time at WVWC, including its testing lab.
“For my first year, I would meet once a week with my advisor at The Learning Center, Linda Selan,” Morgan said. “We would check in on how I was handling the coursework, if I needed any accommodations. She was really good about checking in with me and making sure I had everything I needed. Everyone there was always kind and willing to hear my questions, always willing to help in whatever way I needed.”
“They also provided people to walk to my classes with me in the beginning, so I would know where they were located and I could later find them independently,” she said.
“Every professor I ever had was very understanding and accommodating,” she said. “If I needed a test in an electronic format or if I needed to do an assignment in a different format, or email a paper instead of printing it, they would work with me.”
Morgan also became involved on campus, giving back to the community that welcomed her.
“The first organization I joined was Intervarsity Christian Fellowship,” she said. “Joining that organization really gave me the ability to lead Bible studies and welcome new students, giving them a safe space to come.”
“I joined WE LEAD my junior year because they offered areas of service I could focus on,” she said. “My first semester with them I was on the youth security team focusing on children. Senior year, I switched to being involved with the human rights team. We provided educational materials on violations of human rights and spreading awareness about where human rights are lacking.”
“As a senior, I interned with the Center for Restorative Justice. I facilitated community-based conversations on the Wesleyan campus about different topics, providing people a safe space for people to have discussions. I also volunteered at Resilience Collaborative in Clarksburg with people who are unhoused, helping to cook and serve meals, having conversations, and learning more about their struggles.”
Morgan is taking a gap year to gain work experience before entering West Virginia University’s Master of Science in Counseling with a goal to become a certified therapist. She feels her studies and experiences at WVWC will make these next steps possible.
“Academically, I’ve learned a lot,” she said. “I had really awesome professors who took the time to teach and engage with students. The opportunities for leadership, particularly with WE LEAD and the Center for Restorative Justice, really feel like it has prepped me to be a therapist. It taught me to provide a positive space for other people and how to engage with other people and their life experiences, and what we can do to help. For any work team I am going to be part of in the future, the CCE provided really good opportunities for leadership and being in a team setting.”
As she looks back on her experiences at WVWC, Morgan remembers the beginning of her first year.
“It was very overwhelming and also very positive,” she said. “I really got there and didn’t know if I would be able to succeed. I knew all throughout high school that I wanted to be a therapist. I had this career goal and didn’t really know what it would take or how I would get there.”
The answer proved to be one day at a time, according to Morgan.
“I thought every day something would happen and it would be too challenging, but one day at a time, I made it. I was surrounded by kindness. I definitely would not have made it without the support of those people and making those connections to people I knew would be willing to help me.”
Her advice to others?
“Don’t be afraid to do it,” she said. “Don’t be afraid of the challenge. You gain so many skills, experiences, and so much knowledge you can apply to any part of your life. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help. Try to find a community that you fit into. Having a sense of community is really helpful with the isolation.”
