![\"Criminology](\"http:\/\/blogs.umsl.edu\/news\/files\/2022\/04\/lauren-morgan-818.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDoctoral candidate Lauren Morgan divides her time between criminal justice research and a career as a professional water skier. (Photos courtesy of Lauren Morgan)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Beth Huebner<\/a> honestly doesn\u2019t know how Lauren Morgan<\/a> does it.<\/p>\n On the one hand, Morgan is a doctoral candidate at the University of Missouri\u2013St. Louis<\/a>, pursuing a degree in criminology and criminal justice<\/a> and in the process of narrowing her dissertation research on so-called crossover youth \u2013 children and adolescents involved in both the child welfare and juvenile justice system.<\/p>\n She has already found a lot of success in her burgeoning career, including a child welfare policy internship position last summer at the Urban Institute<\/a> in Washington, D.C., and an upcoming role as a research assistant for the National Institute of Justice<\/a>.<\/p>\n But when she\u2019s not engaged in research, Morgan is often found skimming across the top of some lake or launching herself off of a ramp at up to 65 miles per hour as she trains for her professional water skiing career. Last October, she won a bronze medal at the 37th IWWF World Waterski Championships<\/a> in Groveland, Florida.<\/p>\n Lauren Morgan won a bronze medal at the 37th IWWF World Waterski Championships last October in Groveland, Florida.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI\u2019m in awe of her, really,\u201d said Huebner, a professor in UMSL\u2019s Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice<\/a> and Morgan\u2019s adviser. \u201cWe often talk quite early in the morning because after that she gets up and works, and she makes sure to have very clear goals every time we meet. I think that putting that structure into her life has only enhanced her research.\u201d<\/p>\n The opportunity to pursue her PhD alongside her professional water skiing career was one of the reasons Morgan chose UMSL\u2019s doctoral program in 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cI applied pretty last minute to three different PhD programs, and I came to visit and just really loved it,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cI thought I would be able to fit in well because the program is a little bit more flexible in terms of letting you direct what you want to do, direct your studies, and once you get through coursework, you can be the boss of your career. So, I could decide if I wanted to ski a little bit and also get my work done.<\/p>\n \u201cBeth\u2019s really flexible with me but also holds me accountable. I make sure I get my work done. But she also understands that I have this other side of my career. I don\u2019t think I would be able to water ski at the same level if I went somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n Morgan had taken a break from competitive water skiing while she began pursuing her master\u2019s degree in criminal justice and corrections at Seattle University in 2016.<\/p>\n During her graduate studies, she became interested in the foster care system, securing an internship as a case manager at You Grow Girl!<\/a>, a nonprofit organization that provides a safe forum for girls in the foster care system to tackle their fears and insecurities, build self-confidence and be surrounded by supportive peers and adults.<\/p>\n It became clear right away that she\u2019d also need to familiarize herself with the juvenile justice system because of the number of clients she encountered bouncing from one system to the other.<\/p>\n Morgan thought she might make a career as case manager or working in mental health therapy after finishing her master\u2019s. She landed a full-time job as a residential youth counselor at Pioneer Human Services<\/a>, which put her right at the intersection of the foster care and juvenile justice systems. The nonprofit operates a range of programs across Washington state, assisting people reentering society from prison, jail and the juvenile justice system as well as those who are overcoming substance\u00a0use disorders and mental health issues.<\/p>\n \u201cI was literally right across the street from the juvenile detention center, so I\u2019d go there often,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cIt was weird because our building had a contract with the juvenile detention center where if they were short staffed, they\u2019d ask us to come over there. They were literally linked, which I thought was really weird and interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n Case managers have regular opportunities to make a difference in their clients lives\u2019 by offering support or connecting them to services, but the work can also leave them feeling helpless as they watch those clients struggle with systemic issues.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of it is out of their hands,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cA lot of it is bureaucratic practices that they really can\u2019t have much say over. It\u2019s sad to see their frustration.\u201d<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t take Morgan too many months of experiencing that frustration herself before she decided she wanted to be able to do more. Her decision to pursue her PhD was motivated by a desire to do research that could influence policy.<\/p>\n It just so happened that her friend Andrea Giuffre<\/a>, who also earned her master\u2019s in criminal justice at Seattle University, had enrolled in UMSL\u2019s doctoral program in 2018. She suggested Morgan give the program a look.<\/p>\n She did and met Huebner, who has proved an ideal role model, displaying how research can guide the actions of policymakers.<\/p>\n Huebner serves as the project director for the MacArthur Foundation-funded Safety and Justice Challenge<\/a>, which has been helping rethink the local criminal justice system while working to safely reduce\u00a0St. Louis County\u2019s jail<\/a> population and eliminate racial inequities. A graduate research assistant, Morgan has worked with Huebner on several aspects of the project, including a new initiative to provide low-income defendants with access to attorneys ahead of their initial court appearances.<\/p>\n As Morgan was deciding on her academic future, she also realized she wanted to give competitive water skiing one more shot before it was too late.<\/p>\n The sport has been a part of Morgan\u2019s life since she was young.<\/p>\n \u201cMy parents both water ski,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cMy dad was a professional water skier as well, and he was a huge mentor to me because he also got his doctorate and also balanced the professional skiing career with that.\u201d<\/p>\n Her parents got Morgan started on skis when she was in middle school and enrolled her at the Jack Travers Water Ski School<\/a> near her home in Florida when she was 13 or 14. By the time she was 15, she\u2019d moved to the school full-time and was home schooling with a small group of other kids around training for national and international competitions.<\/p>\n Morgan received a water ski scholarship to Florida Southern College, where she majored in psychology and served as the team captain of the water ski team.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nWanting to serve youth<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Not ready to let go<\/strong><\/h2>\n