Korion Morris slowed his all-black Dodge Charger to a stop at an intersection next to a customized silver Chrysler 300C in February. He rolled down his window and asked how he could get his car modified like the Chrysler.

Morris and the other driver quickly pulled over to talk and exchange business cards.

“”Something like that a lot of people don’t see as an opportunity, I see as an opportunity to make something,”” said Morris, a freshman on the track and field team.

Within a week, Morris was working for the other driver’s company, C/3 Motorsports, as the creative media director – which entails Morris designing everything from business cards to graphics that go on the cars.

“”I can use that money that I didn’t pay for college and get ahead in the business world,”” Morris said. “”Basically I just take risks.””

Morris has been a part of the business world since middle school, when he began marketing his graphic designs to finance his passion for competitive BMX bicycle racing.

“”I couldn’t afford to have somebody build a Web site for me, so I taught myself,”” said Morris, who used pirated programs to build himself a site to market his designs. “”My family was kinda broke, so I marketed myself to afford BMX parts.””

At Renton High School in Renton, Wash., near Seattle, Morris took some classes that further helped him build his Web site. He then decided to forego the normal high school path of working at minimum-wage jobs, instead networking his product within Seattle’s hip-hop scene.

“”Anything that has to do with any sort of visual communication, I did,”” Morris said. “”Everybody wants to be an artist, everybody wants to be a rapper, everybody wants their own clothing line, so I’ll help you become a rapper, I’ll do some sort of music video for you, an artist portfolio for you.””

He used word-of-mouth advertising to promote his skills for shooting and producing music videos, designing graphics for clothes and anything else he could get his hands on. He also hired other people to do anything he needed help with.

“”I don’t think I ever will have a regular job; I’m not that sort of person,”” Morris said.

He said he saved most of his money, but spent a good portion of it on fitted hats and Nike and Air Jordan sneakers.

“”I’m pretty bad when it comes to that,”” Morris said, regarding his collection of 35 pairs of sneakers. “”I had to ship three boxes down here.””

While becoming a graphic design entrepreneur, Morris was also excelling on the football field and in the discus and shot put.

In his junior year, he won the Washington state championship in the discus and shot put. He committed to Arizona in November of 2005 before he defended his title as the discus champion and finished in second place by an inch in the shot put.

He was a two-time Track and Field News All-American and a Junior National All-American. He also holds his high school’s record in the shot put and discus, and in 2006 he placed third at the USA Track and Field Junior National Championships.

“”He’s definitely more focused because he’s competed at a higher level,”” said UA throws coach Craig Carter.

Morris’ best collegiate performance came at the March 24 Jim Click Shootout, where he finished third in the discus with a throw of 53.26 meters.

“”I’m the sort of person where I’m busy all the time,”” said Morris, who didn’t get his driver’s license until three months ago.

Tired of bumming rides off his teammates and taking the bus, Morris decided to buy himself a 2006 Dodge Charger R/T in January – which he paid for himself.

Shortly after purchasing it, he bought a new exhaust system, tinted the windows, blacked out the taillights and installed custom 22-inch black and chrome rims, new headlights and a navigation system in the car.

“”I didn’t even know I was going to be this into cars; it just happened.”” Morris said. “”It’s kind of an addiction.””

Now that he works for C/3 Motorsports, he plans on adding more modifications to his car – including a new full-body kit, a redesign of the interior, a new paint job, a carbon-fiber hood and trunk and neon lights underneath the car.

“”I can’t do anything and half-ass it, I got to do it all the way,”” Morris said.

Morris primarily works on graphics for C/3 Motorsports from his room in Pueblo de la Cienega Residence Hall, but he plans on working between 40-50 hours a week at the shop during the summer.

Morris adds the insight of a young demographic that the company did not have before, said C/3 Motorsports owner Bill Cochrane.

“”For being a young guy, he’s pretty seasoned,”” Cochrane said. “”He’s a great guy to have around, he’s got a broad sense of skills.””

Morris is majoring in media arts with a minor in business entrepreneurship, but he is already looking toward the future.

“”I’m not too worried about the major right now,”” Morris said. “”You have to have a master’s (degree) to really be successful.””

Morris plans to have his hands in many things in the future, possibly by managing a branch of C/3 Motorsports.

“”I could break my leg tomorrow doing squats, there’s nothing saying that track’s gonna be here for me tomorrow,”” Morris said. “”I can’t do track forever.

“”I have to have a backup plan.””