Meet Our Scholars
Morgan Beaven
Arizona State University
Public Service and Public Policy
He/Him/His
Flagship
Wells Fargo Scholarship
Morgan was born and raised in a rural, conservative corner of Western Kentucky. He attended Catholic schools throughout elementary, middle, and high school where he was taught that to be anything other than straight or cisgender was a 'sin'. Between middle and high school, he began to come to terms with his sexuality but was unsure of how to go about sharing this aspect of himself with the world. Soon after, he found his answer in activism. Morgan began volunteering with organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Hugh O'Brian Youth (HOBY) Leadership, and When We All Vote. Understanding the struggle of being gay in rural America, he was driven to make a change and lend support to those like himself. In the fall of 2018, he cofounded the Kentucky Young LGBTQ+ Democrats, a caucus under the Kentucky Young Democrats advocating for laws to prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and to outlaw the harmful practice of conversion therapy in Kentucky. Soon after its creation in the fall of 2018, Morgan was elected to serve as the caucus’ vice president until assuming the role of president in the fall of 2020. Morgan plans to attend Arizona State University to major in Public Service and Public Policy, with the aspiration of attaining an MPA in Nonprofit Management. He hopes to serve in the Peace Corps and his dream is to one day create and operate his own nonprofit organization addressing LGBTQ+ issues.