For almost 40 years, Paul Morgan has been on the ground at Sacred Heart College – quite literally.
As grounds manager at the college’s Somerton Park campus, Mr Morgan is tasked with maintaining three acres of sports fields and green spaces. Off the field, he has immersed himself in helping to change the lives of students locally, nationally and internationally through school retreats, immersion groups and community projects.
It’s this dedication and willingness to go above and beyond that made Mr Morgan a worthy winner at the inaugural Catholic Education SA awards. Held in May, and hosted by Professor Denis Ralph, chair of the South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools, the awards celebrated excellence in teaching and learning, with Mr Morgan honoured in the category of education support.
“I was gobsmacked to hear I’d won,” he says.
“I probably didn’t realise how big an honour it was until I sat down on the awards night among the education minister, the CEO and other top dogs. I was a little starstruck and I must admit I did struggle with the speech as I was quite emotional. But it was lovely.”
Since 1986, Mr Morgan has been responsible for maintaining the college’s football fields, soccer fields, tennis courts, cricket wickets, practice wickets and garden spaces. In 2010, he undertook studies which allowed him to help the students in their spiritual as well as physical development.
“I started off doing Year 12 retreats in small groups,” he says.
“I didn’t have the best upbringing in life, so I had some wisdom to pass on to try to guide students in the right way.
“I started mentoring programs for students. It was a bit of a win-win situation. Back then I was on a bit of a rocky road as well. It gave me a new lease of life and a bit more purpose.”
From 2011-13, Mr Morgan and a group of students regularly visited the Davenport Aboriginal community in Port Augusta, where he put his skills to good use in helping to upgrade the local school and surroundings.
“I had the students from Year 10 for three years so we really developed a good bond,” he says.
“We went to Davenport and landscaped one of their shelter houses, painted the gym and other projects.
“We went into the primary school and spent time with the students. The Aboriginal kids loved it and our kids absolutely loved it, so that was pretty rewarding.”
That bond strengthened on each visit, with the result that many Davenport students attended Sacred Heart College as part of its Aboriginal program.
“We built a bridge between the schools and we still have that relationship today, which is great.”
Mr Morgan’s dedication to helping others has also crossed international borders, taking groups of Sacred Heart students to India in 2015 and 2016 to participate in immersion groups in Chennai and Trichy.
“Each year we raised $10,000 to give to the schools, which to them was a lot of money,” he says.
“We each took 20kg of school supplies in our luggage to help the kids get through school as they have limited access to pens, pencils and other items.”
Just as rewarding was witnessing the effect the trips had on his own students.
“The change from when they left to when they came back was amazing,” he says.
“We saw everything – poverty, homeless children, impoverished schools and more. It was life-changing for sure.”
With a life spent offering kindness, compassion and caring, it’s no surprise Mr Morgan has no plans to stop any time soon.
“I would like to go to the Philippines next,” he says. “And I really love the small group, Year 12 retreats. We spend three days talking about life and challenges before the students get out in the real world. I’m looking forward to continuing that.”
Pictured above: Sacred Heart College grounds manager Paul Morgan receiving the inaugural Catholic Education SA award in the category of education support in May this year.
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