Afterwards, she enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, graduating magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in advertising and public relations.
[2][3] Morales began her career in pageantry in 2008, when she was selected to represent Puerto Rico at Miss Italia nel Mondo 2008, a pageant for women belonging to the Italian diaspora.
[5] Morales returned to pageantry three years afterwards, when she represented Gurabo in the Miss World Puerto Rico 2011 competition, placing in the top twelve.
Her reign as Miss Universe Puerto Rico ended after she crowned Kristhielee Caride as her successor the following year.
[8] In July 2015, Morales began hosting her own television segment "Catalina's Universe" on the program Viva la tarde, aired on WAPA-TV.