Project Controller Corey Morgan talks about connections to his alma mater during Black History Month.
To say Corey Morgan’s family has a deep connection to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is an understatement.
“My grandmother earned her master’s degrees there; my parents met there as students; my wife, siblings, aunt and several cousins are all alumni,” the Flatiron Project Controller says. “And now my daughter is an ‘Aggie’ as well.”
Morgan joined Flatiron nine years ago and works in our Charlotte, N.C. office.
Morgan credits much of his success at Flatiron to his construction management degree from North Carolina A&T.
The institution is known as a historically Black university. Historically Black colleges and universities are schools that were established in the 19th century at a time when people of African descent were unwelcome at other American institutions.
Morgan’s alma mater is the largest historically black institution in the United States, and graduates more Black engineers than any other college in the nation.
He says being an Aggie instilled an understanding of what teams can do when their members come from diverse backgrounds.
Some have suggested if a student graduates from a school where they’ve been mainly only around others of their ethnicity, it will be harder for them to acclimate to the professional world. Morgan says that’s a misconception: “When you study with others from your background, there’s a comfort that sparks creativity,” he states. “When you enter the working world, that creativity makes you a stronger employee.”
Additionally, in 2024 HBCUs are not as overwhelmingly African-American as some might believe. Over the years, students of other ethnicities have become standard on historically Black campuses.
For Morgan, Black History Month and studying at a historically Black university all tie into his desire to honor his roots. Whether with his family or at work, he cherishes the opportunity to pass along what he has learned.
“Just like in construction, we try to learn from the histories of our jobs and maintain those histories to benefit us in the next project,” he says. “That’s the same with Black History and life itself.”
