Barely three hours into her shift as a Medical Transcriptionist for Clinical Laboratory Services, Thelma Morgan has surpassed the 10,000 steps most people strive for in an entire day. In February, her three-day total was a jaw-dropping 271,533 steps – making her the winner yet again of UT Southwestern’s three-day Heart Month Step-A-Thon challenge.

She’s infinitely proud of that, but even more proud of working 40 years at the place where she’s taken most of those steps. Initially hired as a Secretary at the old St. Paul Hospital, she transferred to the Department of Pathology four years later.

“If you love what you do,” Ms. Morgan says, “you’ll never work a day.”

She is a wellspring of such proverbs, including this: “If you’re a good person, you’ll do a good job.”

Other oft-repeated adages echo the words of her beloved father, who raised her and three siblings after their mother died in childbirth. Until his death in 2016, she talked to him daily.

“When I first started working here, I wasn’t sure I could do it,” says Ms. Morgan, who grew up in Mississippi. “My dad would say, ‘Wherever you go, show yourself friendly, be your best self, and always have that beautiful smile.’”

So much makes her smile: Singing in the choir at Concord Church, where she’s been a member for 46 years under the leadership of Senior Pastor Bryan Carter. Binge-watching Hallmark movies. Bowling. Line dancing. Writing poems. Encouraging others. And, of course, being at work.

Ms. Morgan also smiles at the memory of when she was still very much a hospital newbie, asking a higher-up in the organization if he’d like to attend the cantata at her church. He would and he did, bringing his whole family with him.

She derives immense pride from her own family, which includes her son, Jermaine, who was 2 years old when Ms. Morgan started her UTSW career, as well as his wife, Ebony. She’s unabashedly smitten with Kash (whom she refers to as her granddog), the pit bull/bulldog therapy dog for Jermaine, who has vision issues.

But love for her favorite canine can’t hold a candle to love for her grandsons, Marcus and Miles. They play basketball for Troy State University in Alabama, and their loving grandmother follows every game. While she may not play basketball herself, she understands the meaning of the word “team.”

“At work, I try to be the best team player I can be,” Ms. Morgan says. “I’m always ready to go the extra mile, always ready and willing to serve.”

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