The criteria of a cowgirl...Kiley Morgan crafted her own journey in media

BY MACKENZIE JOHNSON

Managing Editor

Within the glossy pages of a Western magazine, a cowgirl more than likely will take printed shape astride a horse. She probably has a worn rope in her hand, spurs on her boots and a straw hat on her head. More often than not, she also wears a belt buckle and the hems of her blue jeans are frayed.

While these criteria may fit the description of many cowgirls, it doesn’t fit them all. Some aren’t typically found on horses, attached to a rope and decked in hardware won in the arena.

Instead, some cowgirls in the Western industry prefer to wear headsets and all-access media badges and hold computers containing set notes.

From Cross Plains, Texas, Kiley Morgan is one of these cowgirls, and she has always been immersed in the Western community.

“My whole family rodeoed,” Morgan said. “My mom was a breakaway roper at Tarleton, my uncle was a steer wrestler for Sul Ross and went on to PRCA rodeo, and my cousins were also involved in PRCA.”

Although Morgan’s entire family was involved in the sport, Morgan never got into the competitive side of it – but she did get into the media side..

“Ever since I was young, I went with my two cousins everywhere they went,” Morgan said. “I would go to the rodeos, and I started meeting all the people, connecting with them and making a relationship with the rodeo community. And so it kind of got me interested.”

That interest ignited when she graduated high school and attended junior college at Cisco. Her rodeo background led her to take on the role of manager for Cisco’s rodeo team, which in turn led her to write for the Wrangler Express, Cisco’s student newspaper.

“I’ve always liked writing, but I never really knew that I could pursue that,” Morgan said. “But when I went to Cisco College and went to be the rodeo manager there, I was in a journalism class where the professor was the head of the college newspaper. She wanted us all to be a part of the newspaper by being in that class. When she asked what I was interested in writing about, I was like, ‘I don’t know. I’m part of the rodeo team as the manager. I could write about that.”’

Needing no further instruction, Morgan took that and ran with it. Every weekend Cisco competed at a college rodeo, she would interview the winning athletes and write about the results.

“I never knew I wanted to pursue that,” Morgan said. “Going into Cisco, I did not have a career plan or an education plan. I was just going to get my associate’s and was hoping that everything played out, and maybe I would stumble upon a passion. Sure enough, I did.”

Through being rodeo manager at Cisco, Morgan had yet another avenue to pursue the newfound passion of media through primarily handling the team’s social media and marketing presence.

Cisco’s head rodeo coach, Don Eddleman, has known Morgan since she was a little girl and knew she would excel in the position.

“She had the pieces to the puzzle,” Don said. “She’s been around this industry her whole life. She just needed somebody to help her put a few things together to get her to where she is today. I just feel lucky that I got to be a part of it at the beginning.”

Morgan finished her associate’s at Cisco within a year, and Don and his wife, Pam, were the pair to encourage her to not only go to Tarleton, but pursue a communications degree there.

“When I got to Tarleton, I took one of Austin Lewter’s classes, and we had an opportunity to write an evergreen story. I decided to do it on the Tarleton rodeo coach, and Lewter pulled me aside after that assignment, and he was like, ‘Hey, you’re really good at this,’” Morgan said.

When Lewter, adviser of the Texan News Service, asked Morgan to join the team, she didn’t hesitate.

Similar to her time at the Wrangler Express, Morgan began interviewing rodeo athletes and writing articles on weekend results – just this time for Tarleton.

“Working for the TNS gave me both experience and relationships, and I think that’s very important in our industry – networking and building those relationships with not only the athletes but the coaches,” Morgan said. “Being at Tarleton and being a part of the TNS exposed me to the Tarleton rodeo team, and I got to know those athletes and the coaches and write about them and share their stories while also building my own connections. And I think that helped me when applying for my internships.”

With two internships on her radar, building those connections played a major role in getting her foot in the door of the Western media industry.

The College National Finals Rodeo media internship takes place during the June finals in Casper, Wyoming. It’s a two-week internship focused on written and production coverage of the prestigious rodeo, where collegiate rodeo athletes from across the nation compete.

While Morgan applied for the internship while she was at Cisco, priority was given to upperclassmen candidates. The spring she joined the TNS, she applied once more.

Around this time, Morgan also attended a broadcasting clinic hosted by Justin McKee, a television host for the Cowboy Channel and PRCA Rodeo. Although the Cowboy Channel didn’t have an official internship program, Morgan inquired McKee about one and got hold of an application.

“Within a day of each other, I was accepted into the CNFR internship and the Cowboy Channel internship, back-to-back,” Morgan said. “I actually started my Cowboy Channel internship in May, took two weeks off to go to Casper for the CNFR internship, and then came back for the Cowboy Channel internship.”

The Cowboy Channel internship was broken up into three parts, and Morgan rotated each week between three departments. The first department was with the producers, where she helped make show rundowns and build graphics for the channel’s TV shows. The second part was the digital team, where Morgan got to write articles and do what she was most comfortable doing. The final department was in the studio, helping with the lights, cameras and stage setup.

Theoretically, the Cowboy Channel internship was supposed to last three months, but Morgan’s path in media has never been completely by the book.

“I got offered a full-time job at the end of my internship,” Morgan said. “It was very surreal. It’s what I had worked for, but it still kind of came as a shock to me. It was something I had to think about, but then again, it wasn’t. It was a hard decision in that I knew I was going to be taking on a lot of responsibility. And at the end of the day, I knew I had to put 110% into college and 110% into my work.”

Getting offered a job following an internship isn’t uncommon, but it is when you’re still classified as a junior in college. Yet, however unorthodox, McKee saw something in Morgan from the start, and her devotion to her summer internship only solidified that instinct.

“Kiley is passionate about learning and growing as a professional,” McKee said. “There’s a big difference between getting the job done and getting the job done at a very high level, and she wants it done with excellence. That’s what an employer will easily recognize early. She shows up early and stays up really late to make sure that we reach our goals.”

For her senior year, Morgan opted to finish school online in order to simultaneously pursue a position at the Cowboy Channel. Being considered a full-time student while also working a full-time job is an undertaking she knew would be challenging from the get-go. And yet, it was a no-brainer.

“Balancing school and work has been a challenge, but ultimately it’s something that I set my mind to from the beginning,” Morgan said. “I knew that I had worked so hard to get there, so I wasn’t going to pass up that opportunity.”

Riding that line between student and industry professional was an intimidating position to leap into for Morgan, especially considering how seriously she took the opportunity.

“It was a little bit intimidating, but the Cowboy Channel is like a big family to me,” Morgan said. “Everyone was very accepting and patient with me, and they still are as I learn. But it was a lot at first, and it still is – it’s something that I don’t think I’ll ever really stop learning. There’s something new to be learned every single day, but I think now it’s just a matter of keeping everything balanced.”

Daunting or not, accepting the position as production assistant is one Morgan has flourished in completely. While she initially thought she’d fall into a more editorial position when she stumbled upon the passion of media, through the Cowboy Channel, she’s grown to love the broadcast side of things.

Working primarily alongside executive producer Karlee Peterson, Morgan helps with the day to day production of the Cowboy Channel on location; meaning she travels to rodeos to serve as the producer for the channel’s pre-show, coordinates with rodeo committees and attends production meetings.

“Karlee was also young when she started her career at the Cowboy Channel, and so she was still juggling college and career,” Morgan said. “She has been a tremendous help checking in on me and making sure that I’m where I need to be in college and with my career. And so I think having a person like her in my corner to not only help me, but also keep my spirits up and encourage me, has been tremendously helpful.”

From the perspective of also being a young woman in Western media, Peterson knows what it takes to be successful, and she saw it in Morgan instantaneously.

“Kiley’s work ethic and professionalism are rare to find, especially in someone so young,” Peterson said. “She genuinely wants to do the work, be part of big conversations and fully understands that earning a seat at the table takes effort and commitment. That kind of presence—the ability to carry yourself with confidence and maturity around others—isn’t something you can really teach. Simply put, Kiley has that ‘it’ factor… I’ve been in her shoes, and because of that, I want to do everything I can to help her grow and succeed.”

While many professionals believe in Morgan, it’s still easy for self-doubt to creep into the corners of her mind.

“I think everybody has a little bit of self-doubt and thinks, ‘Am I ready for this?’ Especially when in such a big role,” Morgan said. “But I put my mind to it, and I was determined, and I never backed down, and I’m still not backing down. And so that’s something that I’ve got to be proud of – to know that at my age, a lot of people only dream of being where I am. I’m so thankful that I’ve met the right people for all of these doors to open.”

No matter how big or small the decision, Morgan encourages others to never let the fear of unfamiliarity dictate their chosen path.

“The best thing for me was diving right in with both feet,” Morgan said. “I think the worst thing that you can do is sit back and miss an opportunity because you’re fearful of what might happen. I don’t think that I would be where I am today if not for that drive because I probably would have been concerned that maybe I wasn’t ready for a career this big, but I did it, and I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Beyond soaking in every opportunity available, Morgan has another mission she strives to fulfill.

“I think that if you’re going to work in the Western industry, you need to wholeheartedly be an advocate for the Western industry,” Morgan said. “That’s what I try to strive for every day – being an advocate for this industry, telling our story, showing people why we do what we do and why it’s important to keep this industry alive. I got to do that with my journalism, but I also get to do that on the production side of things. I get to be a part of that storytelling through television. My main goal is to inform people of who we are and what we do and just appreciate our way of life.”

For Morgan and her passion for Western advocacy, the past year has been anything but comfortable – but as a result, she’s evolved like never before.

“I think that you grow where you’re uncomfortable. If you’re uncomfortable, then you’re doing something right,” Morgan said. “And if for whatever reason it doesn’t work out, there is another door out there that will open. And it will probably be greater than you ever could imagine.”

Morgan will be graduating with a major in communications, a minor in business and concentration in public relations and social engagements.

Although Morgan may be closing the door of being an undergraduate, the door of focusing even further on her career is swung wide open, and it wouldn’t be possible without her mentors and family along the way.

“As I enter this next chapter of life with graduating, I can’t help but look back on how far I’ve come,” Morgan said. “I know that none of it would be possible without all of these people that played a significant role in every step of my path.”

This is just the beginning for Morgan. While her career has gravitated to televised media, and she won’t necessarily be writing the articles that fill the glossy pages of a western magazine, she will more than likely one day be in them.

A cowgirl who dedicates her life to sharing the stories of other cowgirls and cowboys is one herself in all capacities—no matter whether she holds a rope or a microphone in her hand—and Morgan is the embodiment of that unique criterion.