Morgan Jul, a junior television broadcast journalism major at Chapman, is Ellen DeGeneres’ biggest fan. Or at least she’s Ellen’s Biggest College Fan.
Morgan frequently trolls Ellen’s website, ellentv.com, and a few weeks ago saw an announcement on the site asking “Are You Ellen’s Biggest College Fan?”
“I went to my roommate and I was like ‘This is me. I have to do this.’ She was like ‘You do have to do this.’ So the next day I started my quote-on-quote campaign,” said Morgan.
The first thing Morgan did was submit her information under the announcement as Ellen’s Biggest College Fan. Then she asked some of her sorority sisters to spare a second to do the same, but was pleasantly surprised when around 80 girls, knowing how much Morgan truly loves Ellen, wrote in to the site on Morgan’s behalf. Morgan seemed genuinely flattered that the girls took the time to do so, saying, “It made me feel so great! I think it just shows when people think Morgan, they think of Ellen.”
Morgan says her love for Ellen started about freshman/sophomore year of high school when her dad called her in the living room while watching an episode of Ellen to ask Morgan if she thought Ellen danced like Morgan’s mom. “I just went in to watch Ellen dance in the audience, laughing like ‘Oh yeah, she dances like mom!’ and ever since then I have watched her every single day.”
After trying to get tickets for The Ellen Show for four years, Morgan finally got the opportunity last year.
“It was literally the best day of my life,” Morgan recalls. “I finally went and it was a blast. During one of the commercial breaks, I got to dance in the aisle and Ellen’s kind of like talking to her producers at that time, so she’s not really watching. But she looked up at me and she started laughing! I did a heart with my hands and I pointed at her and she pointed back at me… I died.”
Morgan’s busy college schedule means she has to watch the show online. But her freshman year at Chapman she brought a DVR to school, because she “could not live without Ellen,” referring to herself as “that weird kid who had a DVR in her college dorm room.”
Probably the most interesting thing Morgan told me during our interview was that Ellen was a huge part of her decision to come to Chapman and study television and broadcast journalism. Seeing the joy The Ellen Show brought to its audience combined with Morgan’s love for pop culture and television is what made Morgan want to go into talk shows. Morgan says her absolute dream job is to one day work for Ellen. Ideally, she would work as an intern for Ellen, later be hired as an employee, and then “just work with her forever! That the dream.”
Morgan’s passion for Ellen’s show and excited love for Ellen as a person is extremely evident when she speaks about Ellen. Her face lights up with a smile when I ask her what it is about Ellen that inspires her so much. She responds with,
“It’s how much joy she brings to people. I really think she is the most liked woman in the world. I’ve never gone up to somebody and they’re like ‘ew, Ellen.’ Everybody loves Ellen. Normally the reaction is ‘Oh, I love Ellen, too!’ I’m like, no you don’t understand I really love Ellen.”
If there’s one thing that she hopes comes out of this contest, Morgan says she wants Ellen to know the impact she has had on her. “She’s inspired me so much and the joy that she brings me, I try to bring to other people. I just like bringing happiness to others because that’s what Ellen has done for me… Ultimately I would just love to meet her and thank her. She brightens my day everyday.”
Morgan’s Favorite Ellen Show Moments:
“Some people just watch her celebrity interviews, but I love her monologues. Because it’s just her. It’s just her being funny and making observations that are hilarious.”
“I love how she has normal people on the show too and helps so many people. I think that’s so inspiring and I cry a lot of the time.”
“My junior year of high school I was in choir and we got to tour Warner Brothers studio, so we got to go on her set. We walk into her set and I see No or Go, which is this game that she plays, and I automatically start balling. The tour guide was like ‘Are you okay?’ I was just like ‘I’m really happy, it’s fine.’ I love No or Go.”
Morgan’s favorite moment from Ellen’s Academy Awards last year:
“When she came out in the pink dress as Glinda from the Wizard of Oz. I literally died. I was just like ‘That’s my girl.’ It was too great.”
If you want to support Morgan’s efforts to be named Ellen’s Biggest College Fan you can:
– Check out Morgan’s amazing Ellen flashmob in the Piazza on youtube here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5UQX1mEMq0
– Use the hashtags Morgan has created on any social media platform: #MorganforEllen2k14 #Ellensbiggestcollegefan
– Check out Morgan’s youtube for some totally amazing songs she’s done for Ellen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ9DcF4d_1Y
– Or write in to Ellen’s website for her!