We kick off our #MNPSVoices employee recognition series for 2021-22 with Courtney Morgan, program manager for the
Academies of Nashville, the internationally recognized initiative that offers hands-on learning experiences in dozens of career fields to students in MNPS’s 12 zoned high schools.
Morgan grew up in Texas and moved to Nashville 11 years ago for college at Vanderbilt University, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Child Studies.
“I fell in love with Nashville and decided to stay,” she said. “It’s hard to believe how fast time flies.”
Before joining MNPS, Morgan was an outreach coordinator for Nashville Public Library’s Bringing Books to Life! program. In that role, she regularly interacted with young children and their families. “I was lucky enough to get to do story times, teacher trainings, and parent workshops all across Davidson County,” she said.
She has been the program manager of the Academies of Nashville for a little over two years, and she clearly loves her work.
“I am fortunate enough to get to share the mission of the Academies with community organizations, local businesses, people within MNPS, and even people from across the country and the UK.”
The Academies of Nashville are very relevant, particularly in the post-pandemic world.
“Our mission is to help ensure that students are ready for their next journey after leaving the walls of MNPS, whether that is going to college or straight into a career,” Morgan said. “Providing real-world, relevant experiences with the help of our amazing business partners, as well as opportunities to learn and practice professional skills and rigorous academic content, are all incredibly important for students as they prepare for their futures.”
For Morgan, one of her biggest highlights every year is the 9th grade Career Exploration Fair, which allows thousands of 9th graders from all over MNPS to learn about careers directly from industry professionals.
“It is amazing to see everything from masonry to pediatrics in one event, and more importantly to see our students start to think about their future career,” she said.
As the pandemic started and continued to unleash so much harm, disruption, and uncertainty everywhere, Morgan saw the personal and professional impact on herself, students, and families.
“Professionally, we had to learn to pivot to a virtual space to continue to offer the best of our schools to our students. It was certainly a big learning curve, but I am so proud of the work that our schools and community partners did to support our students. I look forward to seeing what skills we learned during the pandemic can be employed to further enrich student experiences in this upcoming school year.”
Morgan attributes her success as an educator to the power of internal and external collaborations.
“We always welcome fellow employees and community stakeholders to the Academies family! If our fellow MNPS employees want to get involved, or just want to learn more, please feel free to reach out to me.”
“For our community stakeholders, we are always looking for opportunities to share your work with our students, whether that is through guest speaking, field trips, job shadows, or other engagement opportunities,” she added. “If you would like to get involved, we highly encourage you to become a PENCIL partner; please visit
Volunteer - PENCIL to learn more.”
Outside of her busy work schedule, Morgan likes to spend much of her time training her “pandemic puppy,” as she refers to him. She also likes to ride her bicycle, go for walks and hikes, and spend quality time with friends.