Academic excellence comes naturally for Iola senior Jaydon Morrison. “I had always been getting As throughout grade school and middle school,” he said. “I made the decision freshman year that I was going to dedicate these four years to it. I’ve always enjoyed doing the schoolwork, though.”
This hard work and attitude has paid off with Morrison being named as one of Iola High School’s valedictorians. He shares this distinction with his sister, Jenna. “She has helped me a lot,” he noted. “We studied a lot together. She helped keep me on track and up-to-date on my homework. She has been a great asset.”
Although he enjoys the schoolwork, Jaydon acknowledges the achievement was no easy task. “At times it was tedious with all of the course work and extra hours of dedication,” he said. “It’s rewarding, though, and not something that I’m going to regret.”
Jaydon says he has always had a passion for learning, noting it’s “the easiest way to better yourself.” He wants to help others do the same and aspires to work in education. “I want to be a science teacher,” he said. “After a couple years of that, I’d like to move to an administrative role.”
He attributes his success to his biggest supporters — his parents. Rick and Jess Morrison, both employed at Allen County Regional Hospital, have helped Jaydon balance his school work and personal work. “They’ve set me up well in life,” he noted. “They took over chores when I couldn’t run my poultry business at home. They’d help me when I was busy with sports or school work.” Jaydon owns and operates a poultry business for his FFA organization’s supervised agriculture experience. “I’m a state finalist in the poultry entrepreneurship proficiency area,” he added.
In addition to FFA, Jaydon has been an active member of National Honor Society, student council, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes FCA. He also served as senior class president and vice president of FFA.
Jaydon notes balancing the demands of his classes and activities was challenging. “I had a lot of things pulling me in different directions, but it was fun and kept me busy,” he said.
And worth it.
Jaydon received multiple awards and scholarships recognizing his scholastic achievement.
“It’s fun to see that all the work did amount to something.”
Following graduation, Jaydon plans on attending Allen Community College for a year before transferring to Emporia State University where he will major in science and education.
