February 5, 2025

Written by: Sadie Latimer | News Editor

If there is an event occurring on Western’s campus, one student will surely be there: Morgan Pemberton. Pemberton is a junior at Western, double majoring in psychology and ASL studies and minoring in social science and is involved in many clubs and organizations on campus. 

Pemberton took ASL classes all through high school and decided to pursue it in college. Western has a notable ASL program, which positively influenced her decision to enroll. She decided to study psychology and social science because of the classes she took that were outside her major being surprisingly enjoyable. “I like to dabble a little bit,” Pemberton said. “I like to take random classes.” 

Pemberton is an out-of-state student and has moved around the US. “I was born outside of Chicago. I’ve also lived in Colorado, and I graduated high school in Arizona,” she said.

By nature, Pemberton is a very outgoing person. “I really like to talk,” she said. “I’m very social. I just like to be around people.” On the flip side, she also loves tuning out the world and listening to audiobooks.

“If you ever see me with my AirPods in, just know an audiobook is on full volume,” Pemberton joked.

Along with being a student, Pemberton also has multiple jobs on campus. She works as ASWOU’s judicial administrator, overseeing the justices, holding disciplinary hearings, interpreting rules and adding new rules to the constitution. 

Pemberton works the front desk for academic advising, where she “(answers) a lot of phone calls and (connects) people to different places on campus.” She also leads tours and participates in panels as a campus ambassador, and is the coordinator for Destination Western — a two-week-long orientation program for incoming students. 

“I’ve been invested in (Destination Western) since I was a participant when I was an incoming freshman, then I was a peer advisor my sophomore year and then last year I was a lead peer advisor,” Pemberton said. Now, she gets to supervise the peer advisors and lead staff training.

Pemberton is involved in many of the campus’ clubs, being the vice president of the ASL club, the social media manager for the Native Indigenous Culture Club as well as a member of Kappa Delta Chi — Western’s first-generation student sorority. She is also a multicultural representative mentor. 

Pemberton is passionately involved with everything she has committed to. According to Pemberton, she is “just naturally a very cognitively high-energy person.” She thrives with lots of mental stimulation from her hobbies, work, clubs and her other involvements. 

“My biggest tip for people if they want to do more is: you (have) to take care of your biological needs.” Sleep is very important to Pemberton, and she makes sure to get at least eight hours of rest every night. She also makes sure to drink plenty of water and eat nutritious food to keep herself energized for her many activities and responsibilities. 

Pemberton keeps busy but still takes care of her mental health by making sure she is happy and fulfilled by everything she does. “I try to align what I do with what I want to do in the future and what aligns with my personal goals,” Pemberton said.

As for the future, she has plans after she graduates to continue her education and get her master’s degree. Pemberton, like many students, is apprehensive about what the future holds. She has fostered a great community at Western, but she knows that eventually, it will be time to move on.

“I am one of those people who’s always seeking out something new,” Pemberton said.  

Before Pemberton goes on her post-education journey, she still has the rest of her junior and senior year to look forward to. This year, she’s especially excited for the annual Pow Wow, hosted by the Multicultural Student Union — MSU.

“This year (the Native Indigenous Culture) Club and MSU are teaming up,” Pemberton said. “We’re doing the Pow Wow this year. It’s been a lot of work and we’ve been really trying to put it together.” The 2025 Pow Wow is scheduled for April 19. 

Pemberton may only be a junior, but she has sage words of wisdom for her fellow students: “Be open and rely on each other.” Pemberton wants students to know that they shouldn’t be afraid to open up and share things with each other.

“We live in a world where we are taught to not impose on each other or not be too much for other people,” Pemberton said. That, however, is what a community is for. Pemberton advised that people in a community are meant to rely on each other. Students shouldn’t be afraid of being “too much” for the people around them. 

“That starts with you; you can’t just expect people to rely on you. You’ve got to open the door.” 

Contact the author at howlnews@mail.wou.edu