Civic Dispatch: Combatting Brain Drain in Rural Alabama

Photo by: The Walker Area Community Foundation

Jean O’Connor-Snyder Intern Cassie Childress explores the impact of the 'brain drain' in rural Alabama through the story of Morgan Curry, Grants Manager for the Walker Area Community Foundation. Curry's journey sheds light on the efforts to attract and retain young professionals in his hometown of Jasper, Alabama.

In rural America, the 'brain drain' is a well-known phenomenon where young, educated people leave their hometowns in search of better opportunities, richer social lives, and greater economic mobility. Morgan Curry of Jasper, Alabama, understands this all too well. Currently working as the Grants Manager for the Walker Area Community Foundation, Curry's professional journey offers a fresh perspective on this issue.

As a participant in the Jean O’Connor-Snyder Internship Program through UA’s New College, I've had the pleasure of getting to know the Foundation's staff. I sat down with Curry to discuss his experience as a young professional in his hometown.

Curry said, “I knew that I wanted to contribute [to my community] somehow, but I knew that I was going to have to possibly move off and or come back to make that happen.”

Curry noticed that there were not many young professionals in the Jasper community where he had grown up, especially young professionals that looked like him. So, he often looked to the older professionals, as he was frequently the youngest in the room. 

After leaving Jasper to attend Shelton State Community College, where he earned an associate's degree in 2014, Curry transferred to the University of Alabama. There, he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Public Relations and Psychology and was active in Collegiate 100, an auxiliary of 100 Black Men of America. Post-graduation, Curry worked at Enterprise Car Rental in Jasper but found the young professional scene still lacking.

"The young professional scene from 2012 to 2017 had improved, but there were still not as many young professionals returning to Walker County or people staying," Curry recounted. Many of his high school peers were married or had families, leaving little time for community involvement.

What Curry calls a “God moment” gave him an idea of just how he could make a profession out of impacting his community. Growing up in Jasper, Curry knew several of his current colleagues at the Foundation before he even thought of working there. 

He attended high school with the Foundation’s current Vice President of Development and Marketing Jim Trotter, and where Executive Vice President Cristy’s and Executive President Paul Kennedy’s spouses were employed. But the most poignant moment occurred in 2017, while he was working at Enterprise in Jasper. That’s when Curry first met Mimi Hudson, now Executive Director of the Bankhead House & Heritage Center. 

Curry described their chance meeting: “While working, I picked up this lady, and she was extremely well dressed, and you can tell she was [] doing something in Jasper. I had never seen her before. So, we started talking, and she got some information about me, and lo and behold, it was Mimi Hudson, who is now my coworker, which is just wild. I vividly remember the conversation about how she was [] thankful that I moved back to Jasper as a young professional and was working and [] active [in the community]”. 

After his stint with Enterprise, Curry moved to Birmingham, Alabama to work for Shipt in their corporate office. While in the Magic City, he was able to see more professionals his age and even joined a group specifically geared towards that population. Young Professionals of Birmingham (YP Birmingham) aimed to bring together professionals ages 21- 40 together for the purpose of creating community in a large city. For Curry, he knew that he wanted to be involved in something impactful, both in his personal and professional life.

Having this in the back of his mind, Curry continued to work. Randomly, he received a call from Jim Trotter, who was already with the Foundation.  Trotter reached out to Curry with unexpected yet profound questions: "What are you working on? What do you want to do? What are you up to? Where do you see yourself?" 

For Curry, this inquiry was eye-opening. Employed and working from home during the pandemic, he recognized his good fortune but had begun to ponder what he truly wanted out of life. “I thought in my head [] what am I passionate about? What do I want to do [] for the rest of my life?” 

Seeing the pandemic and its effects on his community pushed him to think about his life even more. Being in the corporate world, Curry felt that he was working without a purpose, and it weighed on his heart that this wasn’t what he wanted out of his life and profession. 

Curry moved back to Jasper after being furloughed during the pandemic. Now in search of a job, but still dissatisfied with corporate work, he reached back out to Trotter about opportunities available at the Foundation. Curry learned that the Foundation was about to search for an administrative assistant. He applied and was hired in 2021. 

Curry currently holds the position of Grants Manager where he oversees the grant application process that organizations in the Walker County area can apply to through the Foundation. He also manages the grant reviewer team, a team of volunteers from different areas of the community who analyze the applicants and their grant applications and decide whether to fund the applicant. 

Another aspect of the Foundation that Curry is involved with is the Collective, the Foundation’s programming aimed toward developing civic leadership among local young professionals. When speaking with Executive Vice President Cristy Moody, she outlined the Foundation’s hope for the Collective. 

“I hope we can [] build [a] network of people who are catalysts for change in the community, and who recognize the importance of not just sitting back watching things happen but [understand] this is how [they] can actively work to make a difference.”

Through fun and engaging networking events, as well as a grant review experience, Collective participants get to dive deeper into community issues and the various approaches to solving them.  

Young professionals such as Curry are a hopeful example of how the next generation will fare in the places of their predecessors. In areas suffering from the brain drain, programming like the Collective creates opportunities for young professionals to cultivate community and develop leadership skills—all while attracting human capital back to their area.

Cassie Childress is a senior at the University of Alabama from Alexander City, Alabama. She is a social work major with a minor in global and cultural perspectives.

Cassie’s internship is with Capstone Health where she is focused on community outreach regarding HIV prevention. Cassie previously worked as an undergraduate research assistant focused on intervention for the prevention of HIV/STIs, specifically working with marginalized communities.

Cassie is a member of the Blackburn Institute and previously served as Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as a member of Alpha Gamma Delta.

Photo by: The Walker Area Community Foundation

Summer 2024 JOIP Interns. This internship program is made possible through our collaboration with the University of Alabama’s New College and the Walker Area Community Foundation.