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BY RENÉE MARTIN | PHOTOS BY DAPHNE WALKER The Greater Teacher SOMETIMES CHALLENGES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS TEACH US MORE ABOUT LIFE THAN WE REALIZE. No matter how much you love your family, you don’t want to only be known by those to whom you’re related. People knew Oren Morgan’s parents and his brother. Some referred to his brother Rance as a genius because he skipped his junior and senior years of high school to go to college. Although Rance certainly would have been a hard act for most younger brothers to follow, Oren’s academic accomplishments stood tall on their own. In fact, “Oren could have probably skipped high school altogether and gone straight to college if he’d wanted to,” said his AP English Literature teacher at Toombs County High School, Rustin Parker. He was close to his brother Rance and respected him greatly. But Oren wanted to set himself apart. In his junior year of high school, he began to make plans. His first plan of action was simply to experience everything high school had to offer. Instead of skipping high school to take college classes, Oren wanted to enjoy the friendship of his classmates. He preferred pep rallies and playing sports to shortening his days of high school. He wanted to know his underclassmen. “I want to see them when they’re seniors and tell them they’ve done a good job and ask where they’re going to college. I want to come back home years from now and know them by name.” But that was only part of his personal strategy to create his own path. While Rance was finishing up his last year at UGA, Oren was not just doing things differently, he was taking a sharp left turn. His second plan of action was to go to the Naval Academy. The summer of 2016, he was one of 2,550 students out of some 8,000 applicants chosen to attend the United States Naval Academy Summer Seminar in Annapolis, Maryland. It was everything for which he’d hoped. “I’d gotten a nomination to go to the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, and was in the process of being interviewed. I really enjoyed the summer seminar and felt like I belonged. Like I was part of something bigger than myself.” It was the perfect shadow. Mrs. Parker, who was picked by Oren as STAR Teacher, said, “Oren isn’t a great student just because he’s smart.” And he is—smart. Not only was he chosen as Star Student for our region, he’s also the 2017 TCHS Valedictorian. But, she added, “He’s a great student because he went after things to overcome. There was a lot of learning that made him great.” Academically, Oren was the kind of kid a teacher didn’t really have to teach. But great teachers like Mrs. Parker saw the challenge as an opportunity to find something at which Oren really had to work to succeed. Oren began and ended his high school with Mrs. Parker. In 9th grade Lit and Composition, she realized that her extremely bright student was not as comfortable with public speaking. Knowing how important it would be for the future, she volunteered him for Literary. Oren will tell you that he didn’t do it because he liked it. He did it because he needed it. “The first year he competed at Literary, he came in last or second to last,” said Mrs. Parker. The second year he competed, he came in third. He was getting better. He missed the third year because he was taking the SAT on the same day. This year, he won.” Oren not only won region, on March 18th he also won state. The category in which he won first place was domestic extemporaneous speaking. “Extemporaneous speaking involves drawing two topics and choosing one for their speech. They have 20 minutes to prep and then 5-7 minutes to deliver their speech, and there’s no Internet access.” Hometown Livin g At Its Best 101


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