Junior Morgan Downing likes to stay busy. By managing WE LEAD, service scholars, working in the writing center, contributing to theatre and to Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, she never lacks a current task.
“I love being busy,” Downing says. “I really feel like I’m contributing to the community and to the college.”
As a coordinator for the Children and Youth issue team, she helps plan and implement events on campus and around the community, like last week’s Love and Logic event and the upcoming Halloween Festival. Downing is always on the lookout for new members who have a passion for helping others. If you’re interested, just approach her! She said she “loves meeting new people.”
With a background as an English major, she hopes to serve a couple of years in AmeriCorps after graduation. After that, graduate school is in her sights.
“I just want keep contributing to the world,” Downing says.
One way that Downing feels she impacts others is through her sorority.
“I really feel like Alpha Gamma Delta has not only shaped who I am, but it has also shaped me as a leader,” she says. “It’s made me realize that I can really do something. I feel like a piece of a greater whole.”
She also spent the summer working at High Rocks Academy for Girls, a nonprofit corporation that focuses on empowering young women in rural West Virginia. According to Downing, the academy’s focus pulled at her heartstrings.
“This job specifically spoke to me because it focuses on one of the many things that Alpha Gamma Delta’s philanthropy focuses on,” Downing says. “It’s important for girls to know that they have a voice and can make a difference. My WE LEAD experience helped me get the job, so it was basically a combination of everything I love coming together.”
Although she’s from Delaware, Downing says she would like to eventually settle down in Appalachia. She says she “fell in love with the Mountains.”
“It’s where my soul feels at home,” Downing says. “I can make an impact here.”
And with that, she marches on.