As students prepare to enter their senior year of high school, they may be nervous, anxious and excited about what’s to come. For one Brookhaven Academy student, the anticipation of the future is fueling his plans this summer.

Morgan Barron, the son of Lane and Becky Barron, is currently attending the APEX Leadership conference at the University of Mississippi and also attended Boys State at Mississippi State University this

summer.

“He’s getting to see what it’s like to be on a bigger campus,” Becky said.

As a mother, she thinks it’s important because he’s spent his entire life on a smaller campus. The program also is helping to equip the students through contact with admissions counselors and the ability to research potential majors.

Morgan already has a plan for his future — improving others’ lives through physical therapy. Morgan has been on two mission trips to Casa De Fe in Ecuador, which is where he first decided on a career.

“He watched the physical therapists working with the children,” Becky said. “A lot of them are orphans but some have disabilities that their families can’t provide for. That’s why he decided he wanted to become a physical therapist.”

Morgan wrote in an essay about the impact those trips have made on him.

“They really opened my eyes to the things that truly matter in life,” he wrote. “I was so touched by the way the kids at the orphanage push forward despite heartbreaking odds.”

Morgan, who is currently tied for highest ACT at BA and is third in his class, is as much defined by his volunteerism as his academics. He’s a member of Philadelphia Baptist Church, Brookhaven Animal Rescue League, National Honor Society and is the BA Teenage Young Republicans president. He volunteers with Outreach Ministries and Baptist Children’s Village, and that only begins to touch his involvement.

Becky said he is a self-motivated individual.

“If his grades fall, I don’t have to say anything,” she said. “He’s hard on himself.”

But it’s not all work for Morgan — he takes some time for himself with his singing. He sings under Lorin Lewis and has performed at many events, including the Miss High School Mississippi Pageant. He is also a member of the praise team at his church.

Becky said she is thankful of all Morgan’s accomplishments and thanked the American Legion for sponsoring him at Boys State. She also gave credit to BA counselor Daisy Arnold for presenting him with many opportunities for involvement.

“We’re really proud of him,” she said.

Morgan currently plans to attend the University of Mississippi to study exercise science before applying to physical therapy schools.