This Red Raider balanced life and family with determination and relentlessness to earn a diploma and broaden his impact.

No one will ever accuse Rafael Morales of doing things the easy way. In fact, he probably prefers that these days. 

Hard work. Focused effort. Steady commitment. Day after day. Year after year.

Only then are the results fully visible.

Some of that might have been going through Morales’ head during Texas Tech University’s spring commencement ceremonies at United Supermarkets Arena. For just more than 11 years he has been stowing away the time.

A few classes here. A few there. And now, the equivalent of the holy grail, a bachelor’s degree in general studies with his name on it. 

Was it worth it? You better believe it.

“I have had some ups and downs,” Morales says in a semi-quiet corner of the Student Union. It’s late afternoon, and the hustle and bustle endemic to this central point of campus has diminished.

“It’s the drive that pushes you, though. It’s what makes you continue, no matter how hard it might get. There may be a storm coming, but after the storm, there will be sunshine and rainbows, and you have to weather through it.”

As you may have surmised, Morales’ life journey, like many others, is complicated. The rock group Supertramp might have sung “Take the Long Way Home,” but Morales has lived it. He was born and raised in a single-parent Lubbock household, attending the now-closed Jackson Elementary, what was then the recently opened Cavazos Middle School and Lubbock High, where he played baseball for Westerners – until he was dismissed from the team.

Morales admits that was one of several self-inflicted pain points. It wouldn’t be the last as a series of bad choices ultimately led him to being on the wrong side of criminal charges, incarceration and probation. Rather than letting his past swallow him whole, he relied on education and motivation to help turn things around and be the father his six children – now ages 5 to 25 – needed so badly to stabilize their lives.

“I said, ‘This isn’t what my kids need to see, and it’s not what I want,’” he remembered. “I decided to do something about it.”

He has made the most of a series of fortunate events, rectifying his decision to drop out of high school by obtaining his diploma. He moved into the workforce, and the best thing to happen during a short stint with a soon-to-be-defunct telemarketing company was meeting his wife. 

After that, Morales decided to expand his educational credentials, one step at a time. He had gravitated to the medical field out of necessity, and he learned a lot beyond his job responsibilities from the people he saw regularly.

It all began with taking classes at South Plains College and earning an associate degree.

Truth be told, he wasn’t sure about attending college at first. It was aspirational but, he thought, probably out of reach. However, Morales credits several pediatricians he looked up to for nudging him and suggesting he chase his college dream. 

It was a perfect storm of influences, causing him ultimately to arrive at Texas Tech.

Once there, he put the “non” in nontraditional student as he balanced the demands of being a medical assistant at the Joe Arrington Cancer Center and worked to provide for his children. Atop that were the complexities of raising a family with multiple youngsters needing transportation, supervision and encouragement, not necessarily in that order. 

“I knew education was important, but I didn’t take it as seriously as I should have,” he reflects. “I came to realize you can’t get anywhere without education.”

Yet even though Morales knew what he needed to do, getting there was going to be a challenge. As he looked at his family and knew this group of people was counting on him and no one else, the path became obvious and the choices clear.

“I could have been just another statistic,” he said. “But I knew that wasn’t what I wanted to do. I wanted to show them I had to be their mentor.”

That began with coaching his children in Little League baseball. At one point, as his coaching prowess became more evident to others, he tinkered with the idea of becoming a teacher and coach, obtaining a degree in education. Soon, it became more prudent to switch to general studies, concentrating on athletic coaching, family life and communications. 

“He is a fantastic student,” said Katharine Schoonover, a lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies in the College of Media & Communication. “He is highly motivated and wants to be the best he can. He goes above and beyond to connect with the material. I am proud of him, and I was really lucky to have him as a student.”

His plan now is to move into teaching and coaching, mentoring young people and giving back like so many have done for him.

“I have talked to the LISD (Lubbock Independent School District),” he said. “They told me I need this little piece of paper that says I have a bachelor’s degree. Now if I can just find the right fit, I would love to teach and coach.”

But it never would have happened without a devoted cast of supporting characters across the Texas Tech campus. From advisors who guided him through the academic requirements and connected him with required classes to faculty who saw Morales’ potential and challenged him to expect excellence from himself.

“It has been easy to see his passion for coaching and teaching and how much he cares about being able to coach and teach athletes about their sport and also about life,” said Chad Smith, a senior lecturer in the Department of Kinesiology & Sports Management in the College of Arts & Sciences. “I know he has worked hard for many years to earn his degree and get to the career he feels he was destined to have.”

The path may have been long for Morales, but it was never boring, and he was never alone on his educational journey. Texas Tech deployed a lot of people to make sure he was successful.

“You just have to keep going,” he said. “That’s the mentality I have had. The journey is the great part.”

And it might not be over … Morales is considering pursuing a master’s degree.