As Student at Par Hills High, Rachel Morgan Wanted to Be a Cop

Even in high school, Rachel Morgan wanted to become a police officer.

The 1997 Parsippany Hills High School grad, who was as a member of the Paramus Police Department on Sunday, was known known as an athletic and driven girl back then.

"She wanted to do police work from the time she was here,'' school nurse Kathy Kelly said Wednesday.

Morgan went on to realize her dream.

Before joining the department in Paramus, she worked as a dispatcher with the Livingston Police Department and as an officer with the New Jersey Institute of Technology Police Department. Morgan graduated from the Essex County College Police Academy in 2007. 

While few current staff members were at the high school when Morgan, 31, attended, she left a strong impression on Kelly.

"She was tall and athletic, she ran track and I think she felt she would be good at police work,'' she said. "She just had that presence.''

at Hackensack University Medical Center Tuesday night and the procedure went well, according to those who know her.

She had many friends and a lot of energy, Kelly recalled. She also kept in touch after high school, although Kelly hadn't seen her in a few years.

"If I was in the yard, she was the kind of student who would stop and say 'hi' when she drove by,'' said Kelly, who lives in Lake Parsippany. She wasn't sure if Morgan lived in Lake Parsippany back then, but she was often spotted in the community.

Kelly was stunned when she learned that the wounded officer she had heard about on the radio turned out to be Morgan. "I never imagined it would be someone I knew,'' she said. "I found out from a student here. I was very upset.''

and offering support on a Facebook page established in her honor.