West Orange Scholarship Honors West Point Student Killed In Crash

WEST ORANGE, NJ — According to his former wrestling coach at West Orange High School, Christopher “CJ” Morgan was someone you could stand in front of the room and make an example of.

“More important than Chris' extraordinary accomplishments on the mat, he was someone that you could stand up in the front of the room and say ‘This is who you need to emulate… this is who you need to be,’” Stephan Zichella said of Morgan, a promising student at West Point who died in a training-related crash in June.

The spirit of inspiration that comes when people think of Morgan will endure with a scholarship in his name at his alma mater, school officials announced Sunday.

The West Orange Scholarship Fund (WOSF) will administer the new award. In addition, the West Orange Education Foundation (WOEF) has issued a “challenge” grant of $25,000, which will match any contributions received by the West Orange Scholarship Fund until Oct. 15, up to a total of $25,000.

To participate in the challenge grant, make checks payable to the West Orange Scholarship Fund (note “CJ Morgan” in the memo field), and mail to: West Orange Scholarship Fund, c/o Jim Quinn, 23 Witte Place, West Orange NJ 07052.

Electronic contributions can be made by clicking here, or visiting the fund’s webpage on the West Orange Schools website: https://www.woboe.org/scholarshipfund and clicking on the special CJ Morgan donation button. Note “CJ Morgan” in the Special Instructions section.

The loss of Morgan is still fresh in the West Orange community, which came together for a touching memorial service in the Tarnoff Gymnasium at his old alma mater, nine days after he was killed in a crash involving an armored car near the U.S. Military Academy's summer training site in Orange County, New York.

Morgan, 22, of West Orange, passed away at the scene of the accident. He was entering his senior year at West Point at the time of the crash.

• See related article: Cadet, Star Athlete From West Orange Killed In West Point Crash

As of Monday, a GoFundMe campaign to assist Morgan's family has garnered more than $73,000 from more than 1,100 donors. (See the campaign here)

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