Morgan Guess

McCracken County High School
Paducah, KY

After experiencing bullying in third grade, Morgan has spent a decade talking about mental health, while working with her regional mental health center to open a youth drop-in center. She recently secured approval from the Kentucky Special License Plate Commission for an official Be Kind Kentucky license plate. The initiative has the potential to donate more than $1.7 million over the next 10 years. In May of 2020, she brought her community together to create a kindness mural with members of the NAACP, police officers, business leaders, students, artists, and ministers who gathered in a tunnel of the Greenway Trail to paint a call to action – Be Kind Paducah. The effort resulted in a Youth4Change project with the head of the community’s NAACP: a six-point plan focused on providing opportunities to Paducah’s Black community. In the fall, Morgan will attend Duke University to study public policy.

Scholarships Awarded in 2021: NSHSS Mental Health Awareness Scholarship

NSHSS Mental Health Awareness Scholarship awards students for their positive efforts in spreading awareness and effecting change regarding mental health.