Studying movement and a spark of joy
Upstate junior Madelynn Morgan was 6 years old when she first started dancing. It all began with the encouragement of a friend and watching a production of “The Nutcracker.” The show left Morgan in amazement—at dance and specifically, ballet.
“I just sat there, jaw dropped the entire time,” she said, thinking back at the experience.
Morgan soon took a dance class at her friend’s suggestion and noticed she had a lot of natural ability.
“I had no idea what was happening, but I still managed to pick it up really fast,” she said, “and it just felt like something that like I just really wanted to do. It just really sparked a lot of joy in my heart.”
Morgan says she was an “introverted, shy kid,” but found dance was a way she could express herself. For 12 years, she danced (ballet and jazz) at International Ballet in Greenville, with performances at the Peace Center and summer intensives in New York, Tennessee and Florida.
After an injury, her dance career came to a halt. A bout with runner’s knee impacted her meniscus. The doctor said she could decide on a surgery with major recovery over 18 months or no dance. Eighteen months would set her back years, she thought. So she felt walking away was her only choice.
Initially a dance major at USC Columbia, she decided to transfer her second semester of freshman year to USC Upstate, a familiar university, not far from home in Boiling Springs. Her mother had worked at the university until around 2009.
She began as a psychology major but quickly became interested in exercise science. After one week of biology with professor Julie Smoak, she fell in love, just like she did with movement. The creative problem solving also appealed to her, and she changed majors.
“It kind of gave me a similar feeling to what dance did because it was a way to express almost creative thought through something that was very like presentable to people,” Morgan said.
Initially, she was on the pre-physical therapy track. She naturally thought about working in physical therapy for dancers. Now an exercise science major, Morgan has pivoted to the research track.
She spent this past summer in the Er(UP)t program, conducting caffeine and caffeine substitute research and recently presented the research on campus.
Since her sophomore year, Morgan has been involved in student government after meeting friend, Emma Hudson. Hudson also referred her to peers and professors like Patrick Saracino. Morgan joined an organization in the exercise science program, Exercise is Medicine, and also joined the honors college.
And, for the past year, she’s served as director of a dance program at a local gymnastics studio, Sparkle City. While inspiring young dancers as she once was, she has also applied lessons from courses such as biomechanics and anatomy and physiology. She was even able to complete a midterm project on the biomechanics of a dance step.
Morgan has noticed how strength training her dancers like athletes have benefitted them, too.
“My girls have stronger jumps and stronger extensions and can do longer routines with more stamina because we’re kind of learning how to bridge exercise and dance,” she said.
In December 2025, she took her older group to perform a halftime show at an USC Upstate basketball game. From involvement to academics, Morgan has continued to grow and connect as a Spartan.
“Upstate is such a family,” she said. “I feel like I’ve grown so much because of the people I’ve met and the things that I’ve learned and not even inside of class, but also life experiences … it’s just really somewhere where I’ve learned to feel at home. I love Upstate.”