Moragen Ferrell—currently ranked 5th in the nation in women’s boxing—recently led a group of human trafficking victim-survivors in a fun boxing activity for The Dragonfly Home’s Express Yourself series!
“The Heartbreaker” Goes Olympian
When Moragen Ferrell’s boyfriend at the time asked if she wanted to join him in boxing training, she thought it sounded like a fun workout, a break from studying business and marketing at the University of Central Oklahoma. Moragen showed such promise that she was invited to train seriously—but her boyfriend (now ex-boyfriend) was not. That’s when she earned the boxing nickname “Heartbreaker.”
Now a few years later, Moragen is competing in the 2020 Olympic trials to represent the United States in Tokyo! In addition to boxing, Moragen has a passion for encouraging others to set goals and overcome challenges. Her “C.H.A.M.P. Mindset”—Confidence, Hard work, Attitude, Motivation, and Patience—is a framework she shared with victim-survivors of human trafficking at Dragonfly’s Express Yourself group activity.
Sharing the C.H.A.M.P. Mindset with Human Trafficking Victim-Survivors
Dragonfly has begun hosting regular group activities for victim-survivors of human trafficking. Each group activity has a different theme to help foster creativity, inspiration, fun, and fellowship for the people we serve—all elements that are crucial for restoration. At the Express Yourself group, guest speakers talk about the activities they use to express themselves with the goal inspiring each participant to discover activities that give them a voice.
At this Express Yourself session, the group of women joined Moragen in the boxing ring. Each person got the chance to try on boxing gloves and practice punching some training mitts under Moragen’s direction. “They all had smiles, lots of laughing, making jokes,” Moragen said. “The physical part of boxing can help with confidence and empowering them. I wanted to be as encouraging as possible.”
“I was surprised and inspired by this group.”
The activity was about more than just the physical activity of boxing. Moragen wanted to empower the women in the group to reach for their goals.
As Moragen shared her story and her philosophy behind the C.H.A.M.P. Mindset, the group had a great discussion. The participants asked Moragen lots of questions about boxing. Many shared life stories about what it takes to be determined to move forward in life. Finally, the group discussed how to have a vision for their lives and set goals to carry out that vision.
“They had so much energy and were so engaged in the activity,” Moragen said. “I was taken back by their persistence and determination to live a better life despite the circumstances they’ve gone through.”
Moragen hopes to take her C.H.A.M.P. Mindset to a broader audience by gaining her ACE (American Council of Exercise) coaching certification. In the meantime, you can cheer her on as she tries out for the U.S. Olympic team and hopefully as she goes for the gold next summer in Tokyo!