Using skills learned on campus, employee and 2-time UAB grad channels her passion for diversity into practical knowledge

Morgan Peach SHANNON ROBINSON / College of Arts and SciencesWhen Morgan Peach transferred to UAB as a junior in the fall of 2017, she encountered a unique and exciting campus culture: She found herself chatting in class with a student from a small village in Pakistan, eating West Asian cuisine like shawarma and falafel with new friends, and attending on-campus events where everyone was speaking Arabic.

She had transferred to UAB to study nursing, coming from another Alabama university where she was on a pre-med track. UAB’s health care prowess was a big factor, she says, but so was UAB’s commitment to fostering inclusion on campus.

“What drew me to UAB was in part medical expertise, but primarily the diversity,” Peach explained. “It was beautiful to get to have such a diverse experience. That’s at the heart of a lot of UAB.”

During the semester before she began nursing courses, she enrolled in advanced Spanish and art courses in the College of Arts and Sciences, building on a solid foundation of humanities credits earned in her first two years of school. In those culture-centered classes, Peach saw “a beauty in UAB,” one that inspired her ultimately to change her major to Spanish within the Department of World Languages and Literatures and add a minor in nutrition, with a new plan to follow that with a master’s degree in nutrition sciences from the School of Health Professions — and glean a new set of skills that would prove useful two years later, as UAB readied itself to become a Foundation Partner for the World Games 2022.

Sharing that knowledge

Peach earned her bachelor’s from UAB in spring 2019, and returned to UAB to pursue a master’s in fall 2020. That gap year enabled her to train with Birmingham Pediatric Interpreters and embed as an interpreter at Children’s of Alabama, putting her undergraduate Spanish training to good use in a practical setting.

Her decision to delay enrollment until fall 2020 proved to be a kind of divine intervention, she says. The COVID-19 pandemic was just beginning in March 2020, which likely would have affected options for in-person clinical studies, and a graduate assistantship she’d had her eye on — a position in Student Housing and Residence Life that came with tuition assistance and taught a unique set of skills — was occupied through summer of that year.

“I felt like the Lord was saying, ‘You need to rest,’ and that was so amazing because it paved the way for me to get my master’s paid for,” Peach explained.

She landed the assistantship in Housing’s facilities group, where she began working as what she and another assistant jokingly call a “Barbara the Builder” — fulfilling maintenance requests like fixing fridges in student residence halls and working to train undergraduate students who work in Housing.

“I love to equip students to handle maintenance requests, through both consistent education and development of new skills,” Peach explained. “We’re teaching and training to help raise up the next generation.”

A world stage

Peach graduated with her master’s degree in nutrition sciences this spring and currently is sitting for her registered dietitian exams while finishing out her assistantship through this summer — a once-in-a-lifetime semester, as Birmingham welcomes the World Games. For months, UAB has worked to transform Blazer, Blount, Camp, Gold, McMahon and Rast halls into the Athletes’ Village, with on-campus venues such as PNC Field, the Campus Recreation Center and UAB Track and Field Facilities preparing to host sporting events.

Peach says she saw in the World Games a unique opportunity to marry her Spanish language knowledge with the knowledge she’d gained working in Housing and training student workers.

To give supplemental cleaning crews on campus for the Games a detailed overview of maintenance and cleaning protocols, Peach filmed a three-part video series for YouTube Shorts entirely in Spanish, with the goal of reducing a cleaning crew’s total room visits to just one — without a clear understanding of protocols, Peach says, she has seen crews return to rooms as many as four times to ensure a complete cleaning following repeated maintenance visits.

“This year, we're on a world stage,” she explained. “We want to represent ourselves well.”

The videos total under 15 minutes of content and feature an introductory message coupled with quick walk-throughs of McMahon and Blount halls, both of which represent the kinds of residence halls crews will be servicing during the World Games. Peach provided the videos to UAB’s cleaning crew contractor to share with the staff coming to campus through July 17 for the Games.

In the spotlight

UAB’s major role in the World Games is an exciting opportunity to showcase some of what Peach loves best about UAB and the city of Birmingham.

“I really believe UAB has so much to offer — we know that from all the research and health care and training we provide. I’m glad for the collaboration from all departments that have stepped up to make sure we represent our city and university well, and I think everyone’s done a great job ensuring we’re putting our best foot forward,” she said.

Campus itself is a kind of microcosm of what the World Games represents, Peach continues. More than a thousand UAB students hail from countries outside the United States, and she believes UAB is the perfect place to help Games athletes and visitors feel at home. Coupled with the university’s commitment to its shared value of diversity and inclusion — more than 36% of students are American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian, Black or African American, Hawaiian or Pacific Islander or Hispanic/Latino, alongside nearly 40% of UAB employees — Peach says the same tenets that inspired her to choose UAB will serve it well while the world is watching.

“I was drawn to this university for diversity. There’s so much beauty to be discovered in the ‘other’ — that’s when walls start to get broken down. You miss out when you stay within your comfortable circles,” she explained.

“I hope the Games will help people who haven’t had those experiences to see how much there is to be discovered, and how many cool things come from getting to know people from other cultures. It’s a unique opportunity to experience not just world-class athletes being great, but learning to grow as people and grow in our understanding of one another.”