Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 6, 1 Iune 1993 — Maui student powers his way through sports, studies [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Maui student powers his way through sports, studies

by Deborah L. Ward With a role model like the "Incredible Hulk," it's no surprise Maui High School senior Donald Miller Morgan III is an outstanding Hawaiian youth

who goes full bore in both athletics and academics. His "Hulk-like" physique (see photo), built up by lifting weights and years of football training (three years' varsity, one year in junior varsity), suits his role as

co-captain and three-year AllStar of the Sabers football team. Morgan applies his mental power as president of his school's chapter of the National Honor Society, in his advanced placement British literature and European history classes, and his top level classes in physics and trigonometry. In his spare time he is a volunteer math tutor to classmates and Maui Community College students. He also allocates some hours working as an A+ program aide at Lihikai School, helping kids in grades 1-3 with homework or games. All this and a 4.4 GPA in his first semester this year. This modest, well-liked Hawaiian athlete and student credits good study habits and an interest in reading, classical liter-

ature, poetry, all types of music, as well as sports, with providing him the intellectual power and interest to make schoolwork enjoyable. Born on Maui, Morgan is the son of Donald. Miller Morgan, Jr. and Pamela Morgan of Ha'ikū. He is of Hawaiian, Irish, Japanese, Chinese, French and German ancestry. After graduation this summer he hopes to enter the University of Hawai'i - Mānoa this fall, where he is eonsidering a career in civil or aeronautical engineering. He's also applying for a Wally Yonamine scholarship and will try out for the UH football team, but says he has to build up more speed first. Impressed by his excellent writing skills and accomplish-

ments in the classroom, Morgan's teacher, Agnes TeraoGuiala, nominated him for recognition as an outstanding individual in the Maui radio KMVI program "Athlete of the Week." Despite all his activities, Morgan hasn't lost sight of his Hawaiian heritage. He took a Hawaiian history class last summer and is now trying to learn the language. He thinks Hawaiians should be compensated for what was taken wrongly, and that Hawaiian leaders need a plan of action. He encourages other Hawaiian youth to "learn about your history. Be proud of your background. Keep up your education and be the best you ean be."

Donald Miller Morgan III