{"619833":{"#nid":"619833","#data":{"type":"news","title":"An Age of Empowerment: Meet Aileen Morales","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe road that led Kansas native Aileen Morales to Georgia Tech may have been a winding one, but from an early age, it was clear to her: She wanted to compete with the very best.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHer father served in the army, and their family moved frequently when she was a child, to places as far-flung as Seattle and even Germany. In the mid-1990s, though, they\u0026nbsp;settled in at Fort Benning near Columbus, Georgia. \u0026ldquo;From then on, I claimed Georgia as home,\u0026rdquo; she says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOn family road trips, passing through the city, Morales was always drawn\u0026nbsp;to Atlanta\u0026#39;s bright lights. When she was old enough to start thinking about college, she set her sights on Georgia Tech. It didn\u0026rsquo;t hurt that she was a high-achieving student and a stellar middle infielder. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;When I had the opportunity to get a scholarship and play collegiate athletics here,\u0026rdquo; she recalls, \u0026ldquo;I thought, \u0026lsquo;This is a dream come true.\u0026rsquo;\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd from 2005 to 2008, Morales tore it up on the Flats. During her first year, she led the ACC in stolen bases and was named co-Freshman of the Year in the conference. When she\u0026nbsp;graduated with a degree in management, she left as a three-time All-ACC honoree, Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s all-time leader in games played and bases stolen, and ranked among the program\u0026rsquo;s top 10 in runs, doubles, and triples.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;On the softball field, competing against some of the best softball players in the country, that\u0026rsquo;s what I wanted,\u0026rdquo; she says. \u0026ldquo;I wanted to be challenged. It was an amazing experience.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/features\/age-empowerment-meet-aileen-morales\u0022\u003ERead the full story\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"There\u2019s no place like home for this former Yellow Jacket softball standout who\u0027s now the head coach."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe road that led Kansas native Aileen Morales to Georgia Tech may have been a winding one, but from an early age, it was clear to her: She wanted to compete with the very best.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The road that led Kansas native Aileen Morales to Georgia Tech may have been a winding one, but from an early age, it was clear to her: She wanted to compete with the very best."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2019-03-29 18:14:26","changed_gmt":"2019-03-29 18:14:26","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2019-03-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2019-03-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"619832":{"id":"619832","type":"image","title":"Aileen Morales","body":null,"created":"1553883189","gmt_created":"2019-03-29 18:13:09","changed":"1553883189","gmt_changed":"2019-03-29 18:13:09","alt":"Aileen Morales, Georgia Tech head softball coach","file":{"fid":"236002","name":"19C10302-P76-165-web.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/19C10302-P76-165-web.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/19C10302-P76-165-web.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":713222,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/19C10302-P76-165-web.jpg?itok=eVWwfT2B"}}},"media_ids":["619832"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/features\/age-empowerment-meet-aileen-morales","title":"Read the full story"},{"url":"https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/features\/age-empowerment-12-stories-women-georgia-tech","title":"Read other profiles in this series"}],"groups":[{"id":"1317","name":"News Briefs"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"736","name":"diversity"},{"id":"973","name":"women"},{"id":"1625","name":"athletics"},{"id":"6729","name":"COACh"},{"id":"180917","name":"aileen morales"},{"id":"506","name":"alumni"},{"id":"3918","name":"profile"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/kristen.bailey@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristen Bailey\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}