PR Student Morgan Snow Breaks Records On and Off Track

For Morgan Snow the Public Relations major, Morgan Snow the athlete would be a dream client.

Over the past four years, the Decatur, Ga., native found the ideal balance between attending classes in the Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations and running hurdles and relay on the university’s women’s track and field team.

“Track is very time consuming,” Snow said. “I had to dedicate the majority of my time to doing track and then the majority of the rest of my time doing my schoolwork.”

That commitment certainly paid off. In 2014-15 alone, Snow’s achievements on the field included the following:

Morgan Snow

Outdoor:

  • Won the 100m hurdles at the Penn Relays with a time of 13.13.
  • Won the 100m hurdles with a season best time of 13.00. This was the No. 8 time in the NCAA for the season.
  • Member of the first place 4x100m relay team that ran 43.70 at the Nike Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.
  • Member of the winning 4x100m relay team that ran 43.61 at the Texas Invitational.

Indoor:

  • Took 1st place in the 60h with a time of 8.38 at the Arkansas-Texas Dual meet.
  • Earned 2nd place at the Rod McCravy Memorial meet in the 60h with a time of 8.18.
  • Ran for 1st place with a time of 8.13 in the 60m hurdles. This performance at the New Mexico Collegiate Class moved her to No. 2 in the NCAA for the season.
  • Won the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.10 at the Big 12 Championships.

Overall, Snow currently holds 10 university track and field records.

But the senior is just as likely to impress fans and fellow students off the field, too. Earlier this month, Snow was named to the 2015 Academic All-Big 12 second team Track and Field Teams. It was her third time to receive this honor. To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher and have participated in 60 percent of their team's scheduled contests.

Snow attributes her academic success to the SRS faculty. “I absolutely love all of the PR professors,” Snow said. “They’re amazing. They definitely reach out to us and help us any way they can.”

It’s those connections with professors, along with coaches and friends, that she’ll embrace long after graduation. And as Snow ponders her next move, she might end up as the perfect PR client after all. Just not necessarily as an athlete. There’s a side of her that no one knows.

“I want to be an actress,” Snow said. “I am working towards that, too. I have a lot of connections and I have networked very well and I think I am in top shape to do anything really, even if it is track to PR to acting. I feel like I am capable of growing to the fullest in each of those categories.”

But no matter what she accomplishes in the future, Snow has plenty to look back on with pride.

“Every time I think about [my participation in track], I do get chills,” Snow said. “I think that leaving behind a legacy is a good experience. To just look back and to see myself as ‘oh my gosh, I did accomplish all of these things’.”

Kristen Roman