Jon Brady, instructor emeritus of political science at Casper College, poses with the 2024 winner of the Jon E. Brady Award in Political Study at Casper College, Keenan Morgan. (Casper College photo)

Keenan Morgan was recently selected as the 2024 recipient of the Jon E. Brady Award in Political Study at Casper College, where he graduated in May with three Associate of Arts degrees. Those degrees include history, political science, and secondary education-social science. He is the 23rd recipient of the annual award.

“Keenan Morgan is an exceptional student with remarkable depth for someone so young who has decisively embraced the academic and experiential challenges of college. He excelled in all three of his majors — political science, history, secondary education — social studies and seems to almost make it look easy. However, I know he works very hard in all his classes and everything he does,” said Erich Frankland, political science instructor.

“Keenan has seized every opportunity that he can while in college, including serving as a tutor at the CC Writing Center, completing an internship with U.S. Senator John Barrasso, serving as the president of the CC Campus Democrats, for which he created a podcast among many other opportunities, and being selected in summer 2023 to participate in the Young Leaders Initiative program for the American Committees on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C.,” Frankland said.

In his winning essay, Morgan wrote: “The 2016 election started my sense of duty to political participation. I realized I had a personal stake in politics and identified issues that were important to me. Living through the eras of gun violence, climate change, democratic backsliding, and more has pulled me into the political fray with determination.

“I truly believe that attacks on our democracy are real and one of the defining issues of our time. I am passionate about it because it can impact me and my rights. In every era of history where democratic values were ignored, tossed aside, or otherwise dismissed, the people most similar to me suffered. I take politics seriously because it would be foolish and disrespectful to my ancestors not to,” Morgan added.

At the end of the essay, Morgan noted that his academic path and career goals have been heavily influenced by his motivation to “take politics seriously.” Beginning with the fall 2024 semester, Morgan will attend the University of Wyoming at Casper, where he will pursue a bachelor’s degree in social studies secondary education with a concurrent major in political science. “I have become inspired by my teachers to pursue teaching political, civic, and historical subject matter at a secondary or post-secondary level. I believe that teaching is a way to give back to the community and foster positive involvement in political processes,” he said.

Other comments from Casper College instructors supporting Morgan’s selection included history instructor Tanis Lovercheck-Saunders, who wrote: “I’ve rarely if ever, met a more thoughtful, hard-working student than Keenan Morgan. He is a standout student in every class and raised the course environment for everyone.” Education instructor Renee Griffith agreed, writing, “Keenan has a lot of great attributes, especially his efforts to learn about the intricacies of building relationships with students and connecting them to the content area. He will make a great teacher.”

“Keenan is willing to work hard and embrace challenges, and his innate good nature enables him to get along with anyone. One of the traits that you instantly notice about Keenan is his awesome speaking voice, which correlates with outstanding writing skills and other interpersonal capabilities. He is truly worthy of this award,” said Frankland.

Past Jon E. Brady Award in Political Study at Casper College award recipients include Rachelle Trujillo, 2021; Cameron Moore, 2022; and Avy Overstreet, 2023. The award is named after Jon Brady, instructor emeritus of political science at Casper College.

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