OSU student receives future leaders scholarship

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

 

Sean Morrison honored for work as intern

An Oklahoma State University student who rewrote the Stillwater Fire Department’s operating guidelines has been chosen as the recipient of the 2013 Motorola Future Leaders Scholarship Award.

Sean Morrison, a fire protection and safety technology senior at OSU, said he is thankful for receiving the award from the International Association of Fire Chiefs Foundation and the Motorola Solutions Foundation.

“Usually the award goes to someone who is a career firefighter in a leadership position, so it is kind of unusual for a student to be getting it,” Morrison said.

Morrison has been an intern with the Stillwater Fire Department (SFD) for four years. In that time he has completed a number of projects such as rewriting the fire department’s standard operating guidelines, rewriting the SFD administration manual and working on the Oklahoma Insurance Services Office (ISO) audit.

“Basically, I had to take all the information from the city—water department, city government, emergency management, fire department—and ISO uses that information to figure out what rate everybody is paying for their insurance,” Morrison said. “My work affected every resident and business owner here.”

Fire Chief Tom Bradley said Morrison’s dedication and work ethic toward such projects has benefited SFD staff.

“Sean is a great asset because of the knowledge he has gained through school and for being a cheerleader for the fire department,” Chief Bradley said. “It is befitting that Sean was selected for this scholarship as he is one of the many good interns we have and one of the many great interns we expect to have in the future.”

Next to working on major projects, Morrison said his experiences with the SFD have taught him leadership and better communication skills.

“I’m grateful for the opportunities the city and the fire department provide to students,” Morrison said. “We get to learn a lot here that we will never learn in class. I personally think that it is the best way to learn and the fact that the city provides it is outstanding.”

A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Morrison came to Stillwater to study at the OSU School of Fire Prevention, the only accredited fire protection and safety technology program in the country.

Morrison was inspired to work in fire service through his work in the Boy Scouts, his fire department Explorer group and through family ties.

“Both my parents are paramedics, so I always had that kind of background; however, I got into the fire service on my own when I was 15 or 16,” Morrison said. “I’ve been in it ever since. I just can’t seem to shake it.”