BOWIE, Md. - Each week, Bowie State University Department of Athletics will spotlight one student-athlete or administrator in wake of COVID-19 pandemic that forced CIAA to suspend fall and spring competition. This week's spotlight will feature senior
Morgana Johnson, a standout softball player, from Baltimore, Maryland.
Johnson began playing softball at age 12, which is a later starting point than most players. The desire to participate in the sport mustered from wondering where one of her best friends—who was a softball player—disappeared to most of the day. So, she went to one of her practices and was immediately amazed by the "structure" and what "softball really was."
"I just was like: I want to play," Johnson said. When I told my mom, we brought my glove and cleats, and we made an application to play on the same team-- and the rest is history since then."
In the beginning, Johnson flourished as a shortstop and second baseman. Throughout her playing career, she remained an infielder until she arrived at Milford Mill Academy—a high school in Baltimore, Maryland—her freshman year when the junior varsity head coach, Coach Dowling, moved Johnson to catcher after spring tryouts.
"My high school coach wanted to know who could throw the farthest, "Johnson said. "And when she noticed that person was me, she moved me to that position. "I was scared at first because being a catcher is like being the director on the field. So, it's a big role to have. But I have enjoyed it also because I get the most action on the field."
Johnson would carry on her new role as "the catcher" through her entire high school tenure, as she split two years on both the junior varsity and varsity roster. Now, at Bowie State University where Johnson still resides in the position, softball head coach Edward Powell raved about the impact Johnson has made on the program within her four years at the institution.
"Morgana is an outstanding person," Powell said. "She has been a leader for this team for the last two years. Morgana is the kind of student-athlete every coach would love to have: she shows up early to practice and works hard every day while maintaining a 3.95 throughout her college career. Morgana will be very successful in whatever career path she decides in her next phase in life."
Outside of softball, Johnson likes to volunteer with the Baltimore Orioles' RBI clinic, a youth program created to promote interest in baseball and softball that includes the hope of encouraging kids to stay off the streets, according to oriolesrbi.leagueapps.com.
Johnson also likes to focus on her artwork.
"I like to paint; it's like another stress reliever," Johnson said. "I turn some music on and just paint or draw how I feel. It's very calming, where I can be in my own little world without any distractions."
Johnson is also a member of the Dean's Advisory Board of Education Council, where Johnson and several other students discuss—with the deans—the problems students face on campus based on their major. In an interview with Bowie State University athletic department, Johnson discussed her journey to Bowie State, her future goals, and more.
Tell me about your journey to Bowie State, the process of how you got there and why you chose that school.
Bowie wasn't my first choice to go to school, but my mom didn't want me to go so far. So one of my coaches helped me pay for my application fee and acceptance fee. She also helped me apply for an academic scholarship from the university, and I was accepted and everything. And one of my friends—from when I played travel ball—recommended that I walk onto the team with her. So we walked onto the team my freshman year, which was the fall of 2017.
Where did you originally want to go after high school?
Initially, I didn't have a specific school that I wanted to attend. I was going to pick any school that gave me the most scholarship money. In high school, I had a 4.0 and took AP classes, so I was in the top 10% of my high school class. So I planned to go wherever my academic money would take me. I believe it was somewhere in Missouri, if I'm not mistaken, and then my mom, as I said, didn't want me to go far. So I had to go to plan B, which was a Maryland school.
Did it bother you that your mom didn't want you to go so far? Because some students are like, it's my decision, it's my life, I'm going to go where I want.
I was fine with it. I wanted her opinion because my mom is a single mom, so I didn't want her to struggle so much with my two younger brothers alone. So I understood where her complaints were, and I took that into consideration as I reevaluated my plan. Bowie also had a wonderful education program. So I was like, "why not go there? It won't hurt". And I still had academic scholarship money from Bowie as well. So I said, "why not?" So I just gave Bowie a try.
How would you describe your time at Bowie State?
It's been wonderful. I feel like Bowie is a family-oriented school; everybody's really welcoming and very encouraging. They're really about their students and about you coming into school to get all you can out of Bowie State.
Let's talk about your future. What are your future goals after college?
Well, I want to be a teacher. So, right now, I'm doing a year-long internship, which requires me to be in a classroom with kindergartners. I want to be just like my mentor's teacher. She's a kindergarten teacher. I've taught multiple grades from kindergarten to second grade and third grade. I want to be a general teacher in the beginning for a couple of years, then become a school principal.
What made you want to be a teacher and a principal? Where did that desire come from?
My great-grandmother and my grandmother own daycares. I have a big family, both on my mom and dad's side, and I was raised around my cousins. My grandma would watch all the kids in my neighborhood—I was one of the older ones— and she would ask me to help her watch the other children. So, I'd just say it was an instinct for me to become a teacher because that's all I've been doing since I was younger, which is just helping and guiding kids to go on the right path.
What impact do you truly want to make as a teacher or principle?
I want to impact the children and instill in them the importance of having an education. Some children I know that come from poverty are experiencing tough times right now because we're in a pandemic. So I just want to reassure them that education is something that can help guide them. I know for some, they think sports can help, and I agree with that. I believe sports instill leadership and companionship skills and can help guide people toward a successful life path.
However, I think your education is something you will always have and is the real key to success. So, like, for a teacher, that's where it starts. A teacher has to teach you, and a coach is really a teacher as well. They have to teach you how to be responsible. They have to teach you about time management. They're the ones that help guide you. So overall, I think we need more teachers in the world.
How did you land your current internship? What are your responsibilities?
With my internship, I do a couple of things: I observe my mentor's teacher, create lessons, and then teach to my kindergarteners. So, either, I'll observe my teacher or my teacher will have me step in to help her on an assignment. So basically, I'm a co-teacher. And when I help her, we collaborate by making lesson plans and accommodations for our students based on their situations, especially since we're going back to hybrid, which will require some kids to come in twice a week.
Earlier in the conversation, you touched on what your major requires. Tell me more about that.
So as an education major, it requires a lot of organization. In your sophomore year, they want you to take Praxis, which is a test to certify you as a teacher. There are three different Praxis tests: There's a core and then its part two. The core is basically like another SAT test that you have to pass. So reading, writing, and math, and then you have to do your interview process, which is when you're in front of a panel, and you make a case to them as if you're interviewing to become a teacher or principal.
You tell them your experiences, why you want to become a teacher, your extracurricular activities, your philosophy of education, and how you would apply your philosophy. Then, throughout your process, you go through your practicums, which are your internships.
So, through your freshman, sophomore, junior and senior year, you have practicums once a semester, once a year. And then, when you get to your senior year, you'll have a year-long internship. So they'll put you in a classroom with a mentor for a whole school year, and you learn from that particular teacher: the aspects of how to make lesson plans, how to make accommodations for your students, and how to write things up. You also use your practicums' experience to help guide you to become the teacher you aspire to be.
What are your personal thoughts on majoring in something that requires so much time and effort? Do you think it's worth it?
I loved it. It seems like a lot of work, but in high school, when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to major, I was given some good advice which was to follow my passion. And that's what I did. If you go to work every day and be miserable, then you're going to be miserable every day at your job. But if you find something that you're passionate about, work becomes enjoyable. So I felt my passion for becoming a teacher because it never seemed like work to me.
