Junior Morgan Cain, through hard work and dedication to TJ, is crowned a Mile High Scholar.
Morgan Cain is at home in the Bio Lab. Photo by Ed Gloor.
The Mayor’s Office for Education and Children and the City and County of Denver honor DPS students in a citywide ceremony held one a year. Students awarded Mile High Scholar are selected by the principal and faculty within their school on the criteria of demonstrating good leadership, respecting the school and students in it, and for showing support toward their peers. “I was pretty to excited to have won. It was an unexpected honor,” said Morgan Cain.
Students who win the Mile High Scholar Award are notified through the mail and are asked to attend a ceremony. “When I found out I won, I got a letter from the Mayor’s Office. At first my mom thought it was something bad, then she read it and started crying; she was so proud of me,” said Cain.
The ceremony this year was held April 5, 2012 at Boettcher Concert Hall in the Denver Performing Arts Complex. Recipients sat with the other student from their school that have won the award along with their principal. In a graduation ceremony-type fashion, scholars were announced by name and school, walked on stage, took a picture with Mayor Michael Hancock, shook hands with other dignitaries, and returned to their seats. “The ceremony was kind of long because they announced the schools in alphabetical order, so TJ was near the end. But nonetheless, it was pretty cool and fun to go to the ceremony. I sat with everyone from TJ, three other students and Ms. Just,” said Cain.
At the ceremony scholars got their picture taken with the mayor, a certificate, tickets to local sporting events, and a bumper sticker. “At the ceremony I got Rockies and Rapids tickets and a free pass to the zoo. They also gave me a key which they said is the key to unlocking my future success,” said Cain.
Morgan was selected by the faculty and administration here at TJ, who have observed her dedication, leadership, and support for others firsthand. Morgan demonstrates a great passion and enthusiasm for school and for learning. “Some people think I’m a nerd, but I like to learn. My favorite class so far has been Anatomy. I like Hammonds class because of how we learn about everything and the things we learn,” said Cain.
Kirk Hammond, TJ’s Anatomy Teacher, has been a direct witness of Morgan’s dedication and work ethic. “She is a delight to have in class. She is very enthusiastic about the subject matter and shows a keen interest in going into a field that involves anatomy,” said Hammond.
Every year Hammond gives out an award to each of his science classes to students who demonstrate a solid work ethic and curiosity for the subject. “Usually every year for all my classes I give out the Super Science Award, a certificate that I create and sign, to a student I feel deserves it on the last day of class. Morgan will get the award this year for Anatomy. She always puts forward maximum effort and had shown a high level of interest and acumen in the subject,” said Hammond.
Not only does Morgan enjoy being studious, she says enjoys playing hardball on the court. “I tried tennis last year because I thought it would be an easy sport. I was surprised at how hard it was. It was a lot more challenging than I thought it would be, and I liked that. I like playing doubles because of the communication involved to play well,” said Cain.
In addition to Morgan’s endeavors at TJ, she holds a steady job working part time. “I work at Dependable Cleaners where I’m a customer service representative. I work with one of my close friends so it’s nice. I usually work about 20 to 25 hours a week and about 15 hours during tennis season,” said Cain.
Morgan says she plans to continue studying Anatomy and biology in the future and has high aspirations. “I first got interested in biology by everyone telling me I should be a nurse when I was little. Right now I want to go into anesthesiology. I plan on going to CU Boulder into their premed program and come back to Denver to finish school,” said Cain.
