Award Ceremony Speech

After many years surviving public education, the throws of adolescence, and countless journeys and struggles, Andrew Morris has recently arrived in the real world of higher education. At a young age, he spent much of his time constructing fabulous lego creations and playing army man or capture the flag along the street. His parents divorced when he was a toddler and both subsequently remarried. By age twelve he was writing his first stories and was performing as a percussionist. These interests would continue on through secondary school where he struggled with discovering who he was and surviving the tumult of relationships, bullies, and school work. By age fifteen he began picking up ever more diverse instruments such as guitar and baritone horn. For the first two years of high school he also raced on the crew team making stroke seat of first novice boat. After a time he had to quit the team, though, in order to further pursue his music career at the Hartt School of Music. He also took on a summer job as a lifeguard protecting children, teaching them to swim, and handling the public. The last two years of high school proved to be a long journey as he joined more music groups, performed around eastern Europe, improved his academic performance, became a founding member of a slam poetry club, dated a handful of girls, and attended a multitude of proms. As the end of high school neared, his interests turned to the environment and he began reading about the variety of problems and solutions affecting the ecological crisis. This interest would ultimately prove to direct his college coursework and future aspirations. The end of high school and following summer proved to be an emotional journey with a troubling breakup, a nearly tragic road trip to a Tennessee music festival, and the diagnosis of Celiac disease. Today, he is in his second semester of college studying a variety of subjects from ecology to anthropology and even growing edible mushrooms. The world can only wonder at where he will go next...