There’s no question that Morgan Singer ’16 has found a career she will love.
This semester Morgan is student-teaching in health and physical education classes around the Lynchburg area. As she runs up and down a gym to teach younger students about indoor soccer, her smile is wide.
“I get to be in the school environment, which I love, and I get to interact with these kids,” she said. “They can tell how much I love doing this job, and how excited I am to do it full-time one day.”
Her students are not the only ones who can see Morgan’s love for teaching. The Society of Health and Physical Educators (also known as SHAPE America) has selected Morgan as a Major of the Year, an annual award that recognizes outstanding undergraduate students in the fields of health, physical education, recreation and dance. She will receive the award at the national SHAPE America Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in April.
Morgan exemplifies everything that a Health and Physical Education teacher should be, said LC professor Dr. Stephen Smith. “Her efforts in the classroom, in the community, and across the globe are some of the things that make Morgan Singer so worthy of earning top billing from our national organization, SHAPE America,” he said.
Morgan has excelled in the classroom, but she also has been a standout member of the LC women’s soccer team, which has won four conference crowns and one national championship during Morgan’s career. Although she has collected an impressive list of individual athletic accomplishments — including all conference, all-state, all-district, and all-region honors — she remains a team player, first and foremost. “What makes her so special is that she relishes the team achievements so much more that the individual ones,” Dr. Smith noted.
She also has been involved with her teammates and their coach, Dr. Todd Olsen, as they have worked on initiatives for public health promotion, clean water, and education in Africa.
Morgan came to LC for the opportunity to play soccer, and she selected the health and physical education major because it combined her love for sport and the joy of working with children. She enjoys finding creative ways to help young people make healthy decisions. For example, last year she created a Pictionary-style game about nutrition. Her game was one of several created by LC students and accepted for a presentation at a recent SHAPE America district conference.
Morgan said her goal is to help young people make good choices that lead to lifelong health. “As a health and PE teacher, you can instill in these kids ways to prevent obesity, addiction, injury, and illness,” she said.
Morgan recently was accepted to a graduate program at the University of Virginia, where she will continue her studies in preparation of teaching.
