After serving in the United States Army for five years, Jason Morgan decided to serve his community by becoming a teacher and now, an assistant principal, in Guilford County Schools.

After graduating from Southern Guilford High School in 1999 and taking a few college classes, Morgan enlisted in the Army in 2001. He was stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado, and was promoted to an E-5 Sergeant in 2005. During his five years of service, he got married, had a son, and was deployed to Iraq twice.

Morgan decided to exit the Army in February of 2007. “I chose to get out of the Army because during the last deployment, I watched my son grow up in pictures,” he explained. “It didn’t feel right. I loved being in, I loved the guys I served with, but family is first.”

When deciding which career path to take next, Morgan thought about what skills he learned during his time in the military.

“Being a sergeant taught me leadership,” said Morgan. “We leaned on higher-ranking officers to learn what to teach. Everything was always teaching.”

Having the responsibility of teaching other soldiers, a heart for service, and a love of history made going into secondary education an easy choice.

“I loved history and I thought after giving service to the country, why not do the same thing in education and give back?” Morgan continued. “Looking at myself coming out of high school, I didn’t know a lot; I could have gone to college but I wasn’t aware of all the opportunities that were out there. Once I learned that, I thought I could bring that back to the classroom.”

Taking advantage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Morgan attended Guilford Technical Community College for a year before transferring to UNCG in August 2008 as a history major with licensure in secondary education. He graduated from UNCG in 2011 and spent three years teaching in Guilford County Schools at Smith and Southeast high schools.

Morgan had time left on the GI Bill after he earned his bachelor’s degree and knew he didn’t want them to go to waste. After contemplating graduate degrees and schools, he decided to reach out to UNCG about the Master of School Administration (MSA) program. Dr. Brian Clarida, a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations, visited Morgan at Southeast High and discussed the program more in depth.

After some consideration, Morgan decided to move forward with the application process, using Clarida as a guide throughout. Morgan was accepted to the cohort graduating in 2016.

“Jason entered the Master of School Administration program with remarkable leadership skills,” Clarida said. “He often spoke of his time in the Army and how he felt prepared to deal with all aspects of leadership. Jason demonstrated leadership skills in all of my classes. He would often take the lead on various class assignments.”

When he arrived back to campus, Morgan felt a seamless transition and was happy to return to a campus that was so accepting of veterans.

“UNCG was great at being there for veterans,” he remembered. “Everyone thanks you, but sometimes you don’t need to be thanked. UNCG provided programming for veterans, and I always thought it was a way for veterans to get support. I really appreciated the Veteran’s and Memorial Day programs, too.”

He also found that professors in the MSA program were supportive of their students.

“Our professors understood we were full-time teachers,” said Morgan. “They made sure they were aware of our time. They worked together and were conscious of our responsibilities at work.”

The two-year MSA program allowed Morgan to integrate class assignments with his work at school. During the first year, Morgan completed the hands-on assignments by working with his principal and learned the ins and outs of being a school administrator.

During the second year, students complete an internship and are able to apply skills and knowledge learned in their initial year of the program.

“In the second-year internship, it was like you were already part of a team at the school level,” Morgan explained. “My principal put me on a few duties to supervise athletics and I worked with the administration team to get a taste of what it would be like to work at the high school level.”

During the two-year program, Morgan was taught a critical lesson from his professors: “Dr. Clarida stressed building relationships, and Dr. Craig Peck was the same way. You have to build those relationships, so if you have to have a tough conversation with a teacher, you convey that you’re doing this because you care and are looking out for that person.”

Morgan graduated from the MSA program in May 2016 and accepted an assistant principal position at Northeast High School the following August, just a few days before the academic year began.

Reflecting on his first semester as an administrator, Morgan said, “I felt prepared and pulled from every class I took during the MSA program. I felt everything I learned in the program get here, everyday I pull something from each class.”