We caught up with FRIT alum Owen Morrish early this fall, just a couple days after he had arrived in the United Kingdom to begin working towards a Master of Arts in Migration Studies at the University of Birmingham, during which he will be supported by a Fulbright Scholarship.
Morrish is specifically interested in studying the methods by which resettlement organizations in the United Kingdom aim to support refugees' acquisition of the English language. This program of study will enable Morrish to work toward his goal of uniting the fields of migration studies and language pedagogy to support more impactful linguistic integration for refugees worldwide.
During his time at Ohio State, Morrish won an ASC Society of Fellows’ undergraduate research grant for his project on Pedagogical Practices for the Linguistic Integration of Adult Refugees in the United States. Though he has not yet nailed down a specific research direction to pursue during his master’s, he wants to continue exploring the linguistic integration piece of migration.
Morrish is excited to get started with graduate school. “The program covers a lot of difference aspects of global migration,” he explains, “from the practical and political components to people’s lived experiences and the meaning of increasingly diverse societies.” Many of the faculty within the program are world leaders within the research areas that Morrish focused on for his undergraduate thesis. “I’m really excited to share my work with them and see what they think,” he says.
Morrish graduated from Ohio State in Spring of 2021 with a BA in Migration Studies and Romance Studies, with Honors. His focus on these fields of study formed gradually as a result of a number of interests and volunteer opportunities. “When I was young, I was really interested in researching where my family came from and what their journeys were like,” says Morrish, “That is when I first started thinking about migration.” During his high school years, he volunteered at a resettlement agency.
After arriving to Columbus, Morrish got a great opportunity to work with Community Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS). “At first I saw my work with refuges as an interesting extracurricular opportunity,” he says, “But when I saw all the work that people were doing, and the work that needed to be done, I realized that this could be a really fulfilling career.” His academic interests transitioned towards the studies of migration and refugees as well, and he had already developed an interest in world languages in high school. “It all really came together,” he says.
Once he narrowed down his academic focus, Morrish had a big task at hand: Ohio State does not have a Migration Studies major. However, there are many courses on the topic offered across various departments. Morrish worked with his advisors on creating a Personalized Study program with a focus on Migration Studies. “It was a difficult decision,” he recounts, “Should I pursue a well-established program, or create my own path?” He chose the second, and it has definitely worked out for him.
His primary major, Romance Studies, allowed Morrish to continue developing his language skills with French, Italian, and Spanish as his primary, secondary, and tertiary language choices, respectively. He was able to participate in two study abroad experiences during the summer of 2019. He spent a month in Montpellier, France, and the month after in Montreal, Quebec. Morrish first became interested in the French language because he used to visit cousins in Montreal when he was little. “I thought they were so cool because they spoke French,” he explains, “It was great to go back and see how far I had already come with the language.”
In addition to being comfortable with several Romance languages, Morrish has taken two years of Arabic. This past summer he participated in an immersive Arabic program with the Noor Majan Arabic Institute. He was not able to travel due to the pandemic, but he still found the program very valuable in improving his confidence with speaking the language.
As he looks towards the future, Morrish sees two directions for his career. One is to continue working directly with refugee resettlement, helping with language programming and integration. Another option is continuing on to a PhD program. As far as location, Morrish is open to letting his career take him anywhere in the world. “With the language experiences that I’ve had at OSU, studying abroad, and this past summer I really feel comfortable to go anywhere. I feel confident in my ability to just go anywhere, settle, and learn,” he says.
Morrish chose to come to Ohio State because it was a big university with lots of programs and opportunities to explore, as well as many students and people from different backgrounds. As an Eminence Scholar during his freshman year and an ASC Global Arts and Humanities’ Society Fellow during his senior year, he took on many opportunities to develop his academic and research skills.
Throughout his time at Ohio State, FRIT and Hagerty Hall always felt like a home to Morrish. “The faculty that I met in FRIT were some of the most welcoming and supportive people I had met at Ohio State,” he says, “No matter what was going on, I always knew that the department felt like home.”
