Father Ryan Scholarship Recipient:
Tatiany Morales
Tatiany Morales, the NCBWL Father Ryan High School scholarship recipient, loves poetry and playing the quad drums.
A freshman, she is active in the Father Ryan Band, the Sign Language and Creative Writing clubs. She lives in Crieve Hall and is a member of Cathedral of the Incarnation.
“I was in awe,” Tatiany said of learning she was the recipient of the NCBWL Aurelia Varallo Mariani Scholarship. “I was speechless. I’d say going to Father Ryan was definitely a dream because I’ve been looking at the school since sixth grade.”
The scholarship is allowing Tatiany the chance to live out that dream. “I would not have been here (at Father Ryan) otherwise,” she said.
“It makes me feel empowered that business women are doing this for me,” she added. “Something as big as this is giving me a new opportunity.”
With that opportunity, Tatiany is diving into the things she loves. In eighth-grade, a teacher brought poets to class from the Southern Word program. The introduction was all she needed. Poetry quickly became a central part of her life. She participated in a poetry slam event at Lipscomb and wants to study English and creative writing in college. She has her sights set on becoming an author.
“I really like writing, the peace and quiet of reading books,” she said. But that love of the quiet written word sits next to a love for some louder notes in her life. She is a percussionist, playing the quad drums in the Irish band. In addition to the school band, she has participated in a program called Music City Mass Band last summer and hopes to do the same in the summer of 2019.
“It is amazing. There are all these players from around Tennessee playing together from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m.,” she explained.