Meet Kat Morris
Veterans Day means a little more to the 1,100-plus UNC Charlotte students who are part of the military community. One of these members is Kat Morris, a junior communications studies major who served four years as a U.S. Army medic. Morris comes from a military family; her father served for 24 years, finishing as a field observer, and her brother served as an Army health care specialist for six years, which included a deployment to Afghanistan. Though she has been removed from the Army for eight years, Morris still feels an immense sense of pride toward the military community, particularly on Veterans Day.
“When you align yourself with a community of people who are so selfless that they would be willing to do anything for the person beside them, you just have this awe-inspiring emotion that bubbles up inside of you during Veterans Day,” Morris said.
Morris spent four years at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. As a medic, she estimated that she attended to more than 1,500 soldiers. She assisted with physicals on soldiers returning to civilian life to distinguish disability needs on the front end. Morris also performed life-saving medical training, instructing soldiers how to administer their individual first aid kit to aid their comrades in the field.
Morris’ experience in the Army was challenging. As an 18-year-old female, she carried the weight of the Army’s majority male culture throughout her deployment. Her solace was a small group of inspiring women including Sgt. Ashley Stewart, who supported Morris and helped broaden her worldview as a Black woman.
“It was invaluable to have that support system. To this day, I feel like if you have one or two people in your corner, you can face the world,” Morris said.
After her four contracted years, Morris decided that her compassion and commitment to servitude could be better used outside the military. Still, she looks back fondly at that time in her life.
“It was something that I am grateful for and would do it again,” Morris said. “But I’m glad I had the experience when I was younger to help shape where I am now.”
The Army is known for being regimented, but Morris’ civilian transition wasn’t. When she left the Army, she was married and bought a house in Alabama. But that lifestyle wasn’t what she wanted.
“Being a military brat, I always felt almost nomadic. So I don’t feel like I should be in one spot for too long. I have a three-year time limit before I start getting itchy.”
In 2019, Morris and her partner tried van life. She loved it. Morris said she has never been materialistic and that life experiences are the most valuable thing you can own. She felt that in the van she had everything she needed, plus an open road — a gateway to new adventures.
Her partner at the time did not share this feeling, which would lead to a rift and eventual divorce in 2020 on the onset of the pandemic. She moved in with her mom for a short time before moving to Colorado, where her grandparents lived, to make a life of her own. Morris worked at REI, where she excelled as a retail sales specialist, led DEI training for over 50 employees and found a passion for teaching through empathy — all while basking in the outdoor culture of the area. She also met her current partner, and they decided to move to Charlotte to be closer to their families.
Throughout her post-deployment journey, Morris pursued higher education. This passion for learning was fueled by the words of Frederick Douglass that she learned in seventh grade and nurtured by parents that were adamant about education.
“It feels like no matter what happens in my life, no matter how bad things can get, you can’t take my intellect,” Morris said. “You can’t take away the things that I have strived for and I have accomplished and my experiences. It’s a different level of fulfillment when you have an education.”
After leaving the Army, Morris attended Troy University in Alabama and did a semester at the University of Colorado at Boulder in the pursuit of her bachelor’s degree. At Charlotte, she intends to complete this long journey.
“I have had a lot of things happen to me in my adulthood that have stopped me from getting a bachelor’s degree, but I’m not letting that stop me,” Morris said. “That isn’t the end of my story.”
At UNC Charlotte, Morris is president of the Military Women’s Alliance. This student organization, akin to the support system Morris had at Fort Bliss, strives to provide a safe, communal space for veterans and military-affiliated women in the campus community.
Morris noted many military students at Charlotte are older, may have families, jobs and lives outside of campus, so the Military Women’s Alliance provides a place to unwind, vent and converse with people who have similar experiences.
“It’s all about coming into a space and just deflating and enjoying the time we have together and working on arts and crafts and having good food and good conversation,” Morris said.
Morris anticipates graduating from UNC Charlotte in December 2025. With her long-awaited dream of a bachelor’s degree in sight, Morris is overcome with a bittersweet feeling.
“This is my favorite school that I’ve attended,” Morris said. “I really love the environment on campus, I love the community and I love that many of us are transfer students, because it feels like no one is a stranger.”