Naperville North honors grad who made it big in TV

Jason Morgan tried the safe path.

After graduating from Naperville North High School in 1989, he studied engineering at the University of Illinois and landed a job in the field.

But it wasn't what he really wanted.

"Eight years into that I realized I was playing it safe, I wasn't taking a chance on anything so I wasn't going after what I really wanted to do," he said. "I started to get panicky (that) I was going to regret never taking that shot."

Morgan packed up his truck and moved to Hollywood to start fresh.

His gamble paid off.

Morgan is now the president and founder of his own production company, Varuna Entertainment. He has served as executive producer for showssuch as "What a Tool" for Discovery Communications, "Deep Sea Salvage" for the History Channel and "The Drive" for MTV Networks. He also has done some acting, making guest appearances in several TV shows including "The West Wing" and "Seventh Heaven."

Morgan's alma mater took notice, honoring him with the Learners to Leaders alumni award for 2010.

"Thank you for all you've done to bring such honor and accolades to Naperville North High School," Jim Konrad, a dean at the school, said at a reception for Morgan. "Our alumni take great pride in what you've done."

Konrad, who oversees the award program, was a classmate of Morgan's and still remembers students in P.E. class whispering about Morgan landing a TV role while he was still in Naperville.

Morgan also was involved in North's drama club and played baseball. He credits his success to his education at Naperville North and the University of Illinois.

"The education I gained here and the work ethic I gained here - I had the intelligence and the cunning to navigate my way through not only a very competitive town but also a lot of people that are there chasing dreams as well," he said.

Even though he didn't stick with engineering, he says he was influenced by former North science teacher Lee Marek.

"He brought so much entertainment to it (science). Every time I go into a show with the Discovery Channel, - I think back to the fact that you can make a lot of fun out of this somewhat heady material," he said.

The science background came in handy too, he said, helping him impress the executive at Discovery Channel who otherwise may not have taken him seriously.

North teachers have not forgotten Morgan either. Therese Harrold taught him in an acting class and also directed him in North plays. She recalls the intense performance he gave in "The Glass Menagerie" as a sophomore and said he doesn't seem to have changed.

"He impresses me - a wonderful combination of this boyish, playful, down-to-earth person with smarts," she said. "Almost from Day One I could tell he had street smarts and book smarts."

Morgan is a member of Mensa, a society for people with high IQs, and also holds four patents for racing tire designs from his days as an engineer with BFGoodrich.

He has been living in the Los Angeles area with his wife, Sarah, and 17-month-old daughter, Lila, but a trip home to Naperville last fall for his class reunion made an impact on him. He recently purchased a house in Naperville and plans to move his family and eventually even his production company back to his hometown.

"I've worked all around the country and there's no place like this," he said of Naperville. "There's no place like this town, the community."