Though Jordan Morgan grew up loving to read and write, communications wasn’t her first pick as a career—but she found her way back to it eventually. While her undergraduate degree is in biology and she spent time in a lab, life happened, and she began writing and managing social media so she could work from home while raising her two young children.
“I found my way into blogging and worked my way into social media. I do the social media for Knoxville Moms and it just continued to snowball; I’ve done a lot of freelance work, either blogging or ghost writing, and I really enjoyed it,” she said. “I’ve always liked the creative kind of things, which science wasn’t for me, at least not what I was doing when working in an organic chemistry lab. So, I wanted to pursue what I’m actually doing for work.”
And pursue she has, setting goals for herself to complete two major tasks: writing a children’s book and earning a master’s degree. With her children’s book, the ABCs of Knoxville, currently for sale on Amazon, Morgan has marked one goal off the list. She’s also just a few months away from graduating this spring with her online master’s from the College of Communication and Information, which she had set out to accomplish before her youngest child begins kindergarten this fall.
Morgan said she always wanted to get a master’s degree and as her career in communications began to bloom, it just made sense to pursue a more formal education in that field. As she started researching different programs, CCI’s online master’s program with a concentration in strategic and digital communications rose to the top. Her husband graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with an MBA in 2020 and had an exceptional experience, and she hoped for the same. To add to that, the program has the benefit of in-state tuition for the Walland, Tennessee, resident, and is in an asynchronous format that allows students to cover course materials at their own pace and time.
“The flexibility was the biggest thing for me, I’m home with the kids and my husband travels a lot, and I needed something that really could work around what I have going on,” she said. “I’d do it after the kids went to bed and the house was quiet. The flexibility was the main appeal, I didn’t have to log in at the same time every week and I really enjoyed working at my own pace.”
She said the web design and digital communications courses are highly relevant to her current work, but she’s also gleaned a lot of knowledge from communication studies courses that she uses in her everyday interpersonal interactions with family and others. One of her favorite aspects of the program was the opportunity to engage with other students in the program, many of whom are seasoned communications professionals earning a master’s degree to take the next step in their career.
“A lot of courses require group work, and I’ve had amazing group members and we’re all in similar phases of life—people working and having kids and all trying to do this in the little time that we have in the day,” she said. “And I’ve enjoyed being able to bounce things off other people already in the communications industry, and the professors.”
She’s also found ways to make the most of her classes, such as taking on a practicum course for credit that allowed her to work in digital communications for a Knox County nonprofit she’s had ties to since moving to East Tennessee seven years ago, Helping Mamas. Helping Mamas supports women with babies and young children, assisting them through a variety of avenues to meet material needs, go back to work, or attend school.
“Working with them has opened my eyes in nonprofit work and how to communicate with a wide range of people when you’re offering services. The actual families you’re serving, as well as different agencies in East Tennessee, and seeing all of that in action has been great. I’ve gotten a lot of hands-on implementations.”
Ultimately, Morgan said earning this degree will make her more employable and she hopes to someday marry her science background with her communications skills and her heart for helping others.
“I’m really interested in making science more understandable for people who are not as familiar with it, and there are lots of opportunities in the public health sector and in this area. I feel like there’s a big gap in the people who see the science and how they communicate it, and I would love to find some sort of opportunity to do that,” she said.
Though she is planning to gear up for a potential full-time job once both her children are in elementary school, Morgan isn’t about to let her newfound title of author gather dust. It took her five years from inception for the ABCs of Knoxville to be published in late 2024, but she finally got it done with the help of local illustrator Michelle Kiely.
“I learned a lot, it was a good experience, I’d love to do it again. I’m glad it’s out there. When it came in the mail the first time and I got to hold it and my kids held it, it was really special to see my name on it,” she said. “I would love to do more children’s books and I would love to write adult books, as well. One day, one day. I love to read romance novels and would love to write a romance novel one day. It’s just about making yourself a deadline and sitting down and actually doing it.”
The vibrantly illustrated book captures many of the iconic landmarks that locals know and love. But it also has some special additions that only Morgan’s family may notice, like the inclusion of their bluetick coonhound, Walter, and her parents’ boat.
While Morgan, a Florida panhandle native, didn’t grow up in East Tennessee, it’s always held a special place in her heart. It was where her family vacationed to throughout her childhood and the place where she and her husband, Justin Morgan (’20) decided to raise their own children, Henry, 7, and Anna, 5. They love living and raising their family here, so writing a book all about Knoxville for very young children was a no-brainer.
“I wanted to do the ABCs because I wanted to do a little kid thing and I think early literacy is paramount, and showing them something they could recognize would make it easier,” she said. “They could read it to themselves even if they can’t read, they can turn to the S page and see the Sunsphere or to the T page and see the Tennessee Theatre sign.”
Her next big step is to get the book on local store shelves, with the big dream of having it sold in the VolShop so visiting alumni and fans can buy it for the children in their families. Regardless of how well the book sells, Morgan is pleased with the outcome and ensured every sale will have an impact on the very city it highlights, as part of the proceeds go directly to Helping Mamas.
“I love their mission of supporting women in the community to get back to work and back to school. You’re buying a children’s book, and the money is going to your community,” she said.