Professional football player and HISD alumnus Moran Norris recently recognized ten Marshall Middle School students for academic excellence and citizenship. Each of the students received a free computer courtesy of the Moran Norris Foundation, which aims to help youth succeed through education and character.

The students were nominated by their teachers and will receive a refurbished computer donated by Alix Partners and the Scooter Company. Norris, who attended Dowling Middle School and graduated from Madison High School, told the students and their parents that he chose Marshall for the generous donation because of the hard work of Principal Michael Harrison.

“You are all truly fortunate to have Mr. Harrison as your principal,” Norris said. “He is going the extra mile for his students and teachers, and it’s easy to see he really cares about Marshall Middle School.”

Norris was inspired to make the donation after one of his foundation’s previous award recipients, HISD junior Kelsey Young, approached him about the idea. Young is currently studying abroad in Spain and says she hopes the computers will give the students another reason to get excited about learning.

The Moran Norris Foundation has worked with HISD Strategic Partnerships since 2005 to help enrich the lives of thousands of students. Every summer, the foundation holds a football camp for more than 200 at-risk youth ages 7-17 to encourage them to study and stay in school, teach them the basics of football, and instill the importance of training and hard work. Norris also regularly takes student to Target for his ‘’Shopping for Good Character” program and his foundation provides college scholarships to students at Jones and Madison High schools.