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Morris Morrison radio spot - February 13, 2026
Transcript
Shauna Johnson: This is West Virginia University. Morris Morrison, a bestselling author and internationally recognized speaker from Fairmont, is one of this year's Academy of Distinguished Alumni inductees.
Morris Morrison: What this means for me, it makes me think back at everyone who got me into this chair right here, right now. I just cry thinking about all of them because it's not about me, it's about them.
Shauna Johnson: A 2004 graduate of the John Chambers College of Business and Economics. Morrison's professional career has spanned banking, human resources, sales, and global brand development.
Morris Morrison: I know there's kids around the world who may be dreamed of Harvard and Yale, but I knew that if I could make it to this campus one day, my life would be transformed. I knew if I could just make it here, everything would be okay.
Shauna Johnson: Morrison began his career with BB&T Bank and Pfizer before launching his own firm, speaking to audiences that range from corporate executives and professional athletes to students, educators, and public sector leaders.
Morris Morrison: There's just this thing throughout the world that people know that when you're dealing with a West Virginia University graduate, you're not dealing with a perfect individual. You're dealing with a proven individual. We all inherently downloaded two specific things that I preach about throughout the world now. Number one, love God. Number two, work hard. But the third one would be, you're not better than anybody else. You respect everybody. You can build a marriage off of that, a business off of that. You can do anything in the world with those three principles. That's what I learned in West Virginia, but that's what was reinforced here at West Virginia University.
Shauna Johnson: For those looking for purpose, Morrison says, turn to service.
Morris Morrison: It's the moment you start to use your gifts and your passions and your abilities, no matter what they are. If you like baking, bake, give the cupcakes away. Watch what happens. If you like speaking like I did, speak for free for 15 years like I did, watch what happens. You build a brand that way. Our world is suffering from people who are selfish thinking about ourselves. We need to think about others all over again. We need to go back to the drawing board and be a community again, and be a society. And if we do that, more people will feel respected, more people will feel valued, more people will feel honored.
Shauna Johnson: So let's go. Follow our stories at wvutoday.wvu.edu.
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