Joel's Thoughts: Loss of LSHS grad
In early November 2022, LSHS 1982 alum Alan Morris slipped and fell, sustaining a head injury. After two weeks in the hospital, he passed away.
On January 4, more than 30 of Morris’ friends and colleagues attended an online memorial to pay tribute to this truly creative character. As they swapped stories of Morris’s childhood, attendees realized that one of the benefits of growing up in a small town like Lexington was that we had to make our own fun and direct our own activities, leading to serious skill development. Lexington was a crucible for forging the solid values and creative skills that served Morris, and many other LSHS grads, in their careers.
After graduating from LSHS, Morris earned his engineering degree from UNC-Charlotte. He went to work for Hand Held Products, where he led barcode hardware development. He subsequently served as vice president of A3 Technologies, where he developed inventory management software programs. Later, he worked at GKN, helping create parts for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.
Alan will be missed, not only by his friends and associates, but by the engineering industry. There is a high demand for engineering professionals to aid the renaissance of American manufacturing. Last year, North Carolina landed over 40,000 new technical jobs. Schools are not producing enough graduates who are prepared to fill the growing number of engineering, technical and manufacturing jobs.
The loss of Morris, a skilled engineer and creative problem solver, underlines the need for more young people to cultivate their creative and technical skill sets. We need thousands more engineers and technical workers to propel North Carolina's manufacturing renaissance and grow the economy.
So why not celebrate, and support, students for pursuing technical pathways? Why not host pep rallies for STEM students as is done for school athletes? Why not recognize those pursuing apprenticeships during homecoming and other sporting events? Why not encourage athletes to become tech-letes and pursue high-paying technical careers?
Sporting careers are only lucrative for a precious few, but they are glorified to the extent that many youths have unrealistic expectations. According to NCAA statistics, only four in 10,000 high school football players ever attain professional status. In contrast, society depends on technical and essential career pathways. The US needs millions of skilled workers to backfill the retiring boomer generation and to support the economy.
Student participation in sports teaches valuable life lessons. While it is commendable that schools, counties and states recognize Hall of Fame sports stars, we also need to change our cultural values to encourage those students who pursue the technical education so vital to the functioning of society.
Please join us in celebrating the life of Alan Morris, a creative engineer and a good friend. It has been said the best way to honor a person's memory is to emulate their best attributes. Alan famously never met a stranger. For his entire career he invested in others, particularly young people. He was a youth mentor at his church and an advocate for technical careers. Hopefully, more of us will do as Morris did and encourage students to pursue technical and engineering pathways.
To see Morris’ engineering brain in action, check out a YouTube interview from 2009 about the real-life recreation of technologies depicted in the movie "Minority Report."
Morris loved to ask "What If?" What if we grow more technical talent? What if we don't?
