Student Profile: Morgan Bishop
Hometown: Dayton, OR
Institution: Linfield College
Major: Education
Year: Sophomore
Ever since her childhood Morgan Bishop has dreamed of becoming a teacher. Now as a young adult she finds her motivation for teaching in the opportunity it presents to have a positive influence on younger generations. Morgan’s love for teaching students is undeniable in the way she talks about her classroom experiences and shares about the obstacles she has overcome to pursue her career calling.
Morgan attended Dayton High School where she benefited from a small, intimate educational environment. The personal community provided the resources that allowed her to invest in her future education and career goals. During her sophomore and junior years she participated in classes that not only equipped her to mentor and tutor middle school youth, but also provided her with the opportunity to apply these skills. She also participated in CIS career quizzes and a career course her junior year that helped her identify and confidently pursue the appropriate degree.
Morgan considered two colleges and ended up choosing Linfield College because of the personal educational experience it offered as a private liberal arts institution. With this decision she also chose to brave a significant challenge – pursuing higher education without any financial support from her family. Despite these unfortunate circumstances Morgan has successfully finished her first year of college and started the second. Her fierce commitment to realizing her dreams has shown itself through her effort to obtain scholarships and work several jobs in order to manage the financial cost.
She is fully engaged in her education, and enjoyed her first education course, which required thirty hours of community service. Through this hands-on learning experience Morgan was able to spend time in the classroom, assisting and observing a teacher, as well as serving in a mentorship role in the community through the SMART reading program.
Returning as a sophomore she had to face the added obstacle of coming into the year without her first year non-renewable scholarships from her home community, which is why the Match Educational Savings Account Initiative became so critical for her continuation at Linfield. For Morgan the MESA initiative is making a substantial difference. “I was almost speechless….I have no other outside help,” Morgan commented in regards to learning of the MESA program.