Non Sibi Sed Aliis Award Winner: Paul Morrissey '99

Jun 20 2024

Presented annually at the Annual Meeting of the Alumni Association during Reunion weekend, the Non Sibi Sed Aliis Award is bestowed upon an alumnus/a who has brought pride to the Academy by embodying the spirit of the school motto, "Not for self, but for others.”

In unprecedented times, this alumnus devoted himself to ensuring that students in San Antonio, Texas, still had access to a life-changing education. Not only did he achieve that goal, he has now expanded his reach, making sure students in other parts of Texas can obtain an affirming and confidence-building primary and secondary education that best prepares them to be future leaders.

He credits former Academy music teacher Cindy McKeen for expanding his horizons with a simple request of a devoted hockey player on the first day of classes: sing. At that moment, he realized that the best education is one where a teacher shows a student potential they didn't know they had. Within that encouragement, the teacher shows the student a path to success.

The belief his Govs teachers had in all that he tried encouraged him to pursue education as a career. After earning degrees at the University of Connecticut and Trinity College Dublin, he found his way into charter school work in Arizona and Washington, D.C. He then obtained a fellowship to work within the Lawrence Public Schools and the non-profit Building Excellent Schools.

Inspired and equipped to launch his own charter school, he was only one of two such schools approved by the State of Texas the year he applied. Using grassroots marketing, the Compass Rose school had an opening enrollment of 90 families. In the years that followed, the education he was providing was so impactful that more families wanted in.

Despite the COVID-19 pan schools to go remote in 2020, this alumnus was determined to open a second campus of his three-year-old charter school that fall and provide students with as much support as possible during those unsure times. Not only did he succeed, Compass Rose's growth grew substantially from there.

As of last fall, he now has seven campuses and 4,000 students, expanding beyond Bexar County to the Austin area. Compass Rose has become one of the quickest-growing and most successful charter school organizations in the United States.

Inspired by the adults at the Academy who nurtured and believed in him, this alumnus seeks to give students in Texas the same support. "His work has and will change the lives of many young people in San Antonio and beyond," said his nominator, J.J. Morrissey '02. "He lives "Non Sibi Sed Aliis" every single day and his actions bring me pride, not just as his brother, but as a fellow Govs alumnus as well." It is my honor and privilege to present the 2024 Non Sibi Sed Aliis Award to Paul Morrissey, Class of 1999.