When Scott Morgan entered George Mason University as a freshman, his major was undeclared.
Morgan said he was just being cautious.
“I wanted to be undeclared just in case I tried computer science and was going to hate it,” Morgan said. “I didn’t want to lock myself into an intense major in which I would set myself up to not have success.”
As it turned out, computer science was exactly the right fit.
“I really enjoy it,” he said. “You’re able to make things happen the way you choose. There’s a creativity with it, even though it’s very technical and very concrete in a sense. Being able to make code your own and make it do whatever you want it to do, it’s just fun and interesting.”
Morgan, from Woodbridge, Virginia, graduated in May 2021, and is now pursuing his master’s degree in software engineering. He also has a full-time job lined up, starting in the summer, with a software company that does work for the Department of Defense.
The bonus for Morgan is that he, along with all student-athletes across the country, received an extra year of athletic eligibility from the NCAA because of the pandemic.
So when the Patriots baseball team opens their season Feb. 18 at Wofford College, Morgan, who led Mason in home runs the past two seasons, will be at first base.
“Scott has been an invaluable part of our baseball program,” Coach Bill Brown said. “He has evolved into a young man who leads by example. Whether it be game day or just a practice, he always gives 100%. He is a pleasure to coach, and I expect him to have another great year.”
For Morgan, who committed to an athletic scholarship after his junior season of high school, the camaraderie is just as important as the games.
“I underestimated how important it would be to be really good friends with your teammates, some of them I’ve been with for five years,” said Morgan, who batted .300 in 2021 with six home runs and a team-high 27 RBI. “That’s something I’m going to take with me for the rest of my life.”
Bigger picture, what Morgan will take from Mason is a foundation for a successful future.
Named to the Atlantic 10 Conference’s “Commissioner’s Honor Roll” for four consecutive years, Morgan is participating in an accelerated master’s program in Mason’s Volgenau School of Engineering and has had two internships with Northrop Grumman.
“Scott is a quick thinker, a hard worker, very resilient, and knows how to adapt to difficult situations, all qualities that are learned in baseball and are then essential in academics,” said Jeff Offutt, a professor of software engineering at Mason. “I expect him to grow into strong leadership positions in his career. I am proud to have been one of his many coaches.”
“I knew Mason had a lot of good academic programs across the board,” Morgan said. “I knew they had a good engineering school, a good science school. I ended up going with computer science, which worked out really well for me.”