When you think of the word “Heisman” your mind usually goes straight to college football and the famed stiff-arm pose showcased on the award, but it goes on much farther than that.
The Heisman High School Scholarship was created back in 1994 with a partnership between Wendy’s and the Heisman Trophy Trust, and according to the website, “extends the Heisman prestige to the nation’s most esteemed high school seniors by celebrating and rewarding outstanding male and female scholar-athletes who understand that the most important victories happen not only on the field, but also in their schools and communities.”
Out of those thousands of high school athletes who applied, Collins’ own Brooke Morris fit that mold.
Morris is a senior at Martha Layne Collins High School who plays for the volleyball and softball teams. Morris is a middle blocker in volleyball, playing a big role to help lead her team to the district championship game this season.
Morris led the team in total blocks this season with 98, averaging 1.1 blocks a game.
“It’s all about playing your role on the team to make sure everything is cohesive as one unit,” Morris said. “I’m a blocker so I probably touch and set the ball the least out of anyone when I’m on the court but I still do what I need to to contribute to the team as a whole.”
Morris has been playing volleyball since the sixth grade.
“I wanted to branch out in middle school and some of my friends were playing as well.”
Morris said she thought she had a “fair shot” since she knew that not a lot of people from her school applied for the scholarship.
“I knew some of the people from my school were applying for it, so I thought I would give it a shot — especially since I played two sports.”
The school winners were announced Nov. 2.
“It felt great when I found out I received it,” Morris said. “It’s always nice being recognized for working hard.”
Morris did not go on to be a female state finalist, but she is still very proud of herself nonetheless. “Even though I didn’t make it past the school winners, I’m still pretty proud,” she said.
State Winners receive a $1,000 college scholarship, National Finalists receive a $2,000 college scholarship and the male and female National Winners will each receive $10,000 college scholarships. The two male and female winners out almost 6,000 students will be announced Nov. 30.