Full schedule: Belpre’s Bella Morrison balances student council, mock trial, cheer | News, Sports, Jobs

(Photo by Amber Phipps)
From left, Elizabeth Morrison, Bella Morrison and her boyfriend Logan Boyd take a photo together on May 26.

BELPRE — As an incoming junior at Belpre High School, Bella Morrison is excited for what the upcoming school year has to offer.

Born in Marietta and raised in Belpre, she is the youngest of five with two sisters and two brothers, and their two family dogs.

Morrison said that she’s always been a planner and doesn’t ever like to be bored so she stays highly involved with various groups within her school.

“I’ve been in student council since my freshman year, so this will be my third year,” said Morrison. “I like knowing what’s happening at my school, and it helps me be more involved.”

As a member of the student council, she has the opportunity to plan school dances and other events. Morrison said she’s very excited to be able to be part of the planning process for the prom in the spring.

(Photo by Amber Phipps)
From left; Elizabeth Morrison, older sister Leha Bass and Bella Morrison at the Belpre High School prom in May.

“Planning is very stressful, and I can already feel the stress from prom coming, but I just love planning things and decorations and what the theme is going to be,” said Morrison. “I also love helping other students and helping them when they don’t feel comfortable talking to adults.”

She said that the experience has taught her how to communicate with her team and plan effectively. She feels that they’re going to accomplish great things this school year.

Morrison is also excited to immerse herself in mock trial, which she joined halfway through her freshman year.

“I’m really glad I did it because I feel like it made me so much better at speaking publicly,” she said. “The judge would just kind of throw questions at you very sternly, and I feel like that helped me under pressure.”

She said she’s excited for this year since she was nervous in the past, but with a little practice and growth, she feels ready to take on the challenge.

(Photo by Amber Phipps)
Bella Morrison and the Belpre High School cheer team are seen before they performed for Belpre Homecoming at Civitan Park on Aug. 1. Coaches Rachel Thomas, left, and Lindsay Taylor, right, were leading the team.

Morrison plans to use the skills she’s learned over the years to work toward her goal of eventually teaching early education.

“I’m in an education transfer right now for my associate’s so last year was my first year starting CCP,” she said. “I took a good bit of classes, maybe five or six, and then this year I already have my college classes planned for the first semester.”

She’s taking College Credit Plus courses through Washington State College of Ohio.

Morrison said she definitely wants to be a teacher for younger grades and she’s considering a few colleges in the area. With two years of high school remaining, she’s planning ahead and looking into what nearby colleges have to offer.

“I know Ohio University has a really great teaching program, and a lot of my teachers have gone to OU,” she said.

Aside from her involvement in school and college classes, she also makes time for cheer. She’s been in cheer since fourth grade and originally started at Ohio Valley All Stars.

“I had quit cheering for Ohio Valley and started cheering for pee wee cheer at Belpre and then in seventh grade I was in junior high cheer,” said Morrison.

She cheered from seventh through eighth grade then tried out and made the varsity team her freshman year of high school. Since making the Belpre varsity team, she feels confident in her ability and continues to cheer for the school.

“I used to play two sports so I dropped one this year so I could have a little bit more free time because it was very stressful juggling two sports and my schoolwork and student council with everything else,” she said.

With everything she was committed to, she made the decision to take a step away from volleyball.

“I took that off my plate this year and I’m excited to see how well I’m going to perform, I already know that I’m kind of doing better,” she said. “I feel a lot less stressed knowing that I don’t have to do everything all at once this year.”

Despite her busy schedule, she makes time to hang out with her sister Liz.

“We hang out all the time…it can be hard to find time now that we’re both older and have jobs but she is one of my best friends,” said Morrison.

She said that she’s excited to see how much she’s grown and learned since her sophomore year.