This article originally appeared in the Allegan County News and has been republished with permission. If you are an Allegan Public Schools graduate and would like to be featured in an article, contact our Communications Director.
By LESLIE BALLARD
Allegan County News
Globetrotter might be a good way to describe Megan Locatis, Allegan High School Class of 2012 alum. While she may live nearby, she can certainly claim to have experienced many different cultures in her young life.
Megan lives and works in Cutlerville where she is a unit coordinator for Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services. She is also working on a master’s degree in social work case management at the University of Michigan.
“Working in mental health where I can demonstrate a positive attitude and encouragement for patients at a difficult time of their lives…this is the work I want to be doing, what gets me up in the morning.”
Her passion for her work extends beyond working directly with clients, and she hopes someday to be in a position to influence policy decisions about care.
Before returning to Michigan, Megan attended Wellesley College in Massachusetts where she majored in French and Comparative Language.
She spent her junior year in Aix-en-Provence. The Wellesley French Department hires teaching assistants from France, so when Megan arrived, she knew someone who could help her get acclimated to her temporary home.
“Everything was walkable, which was really great. The convenience of being so connected to other towns and cities by trains or buses made it easy.”
During school breaks, she took advantage of opportunities to travel, visiting Scotland, Rome, Morocco, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Poland.
She was very impressed by the salt mines in Poland, which have been transformed into stunning attractions. Parts of Lithuania “reminded me of home, especially the silver sand dunes of the Curonian Split on the coast of the Caspian Sea.” Some of her ancestors were Lithuanian, so she felt a connection. Megan found a giant morel, which she cooked for her friends who had never had them.
“I’ve always been interested in travel, and I love the thrill, the uncertainty of traveling on a shoestring budget. Nothing compares!” She also appreciated the confidence she built as a result of her travels. Her last trip was to Iceland just before the pandemic.
After nine months in Aix-en-Provence, Megan moved on to a three month internship with a startup online French pharmaceutical company in Montpelier. In addition to translating documents, she taught English to fellow employees.
During her senior year, her grandmother had a stroke, so Megan spent time helping her grandmother while she was receiving rehabilitation in Burnips and when she returned to Allegan.
That year, she was honored to be an alternate Fulbright Scholar. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program partners with 140 countries to offer opportunities to graduating college seniors, graduate students and young professionals to pursue graduate study, conduct research or teach English abroad. Megan had hoped to teach English in Senegal.
“My family is still here so I come back often. I love Bridge Fest, the craft fairs, the library and the riverfront – love to see the entertainment and splash pad.”
Megan was “really surprised to be well prepared for Wellesley, which is very selective. At first I felt intimidated. It was terrifying.”
She credits a “really dedicated group of teachers” at AHS for her success at Wellesley. “I was always supported by a lot of people who went the extra mile.”
French teachers Madam Kiel and Mrs. Boes “made language instruction as enriching as possible,” she fondly recalls.
Even though it was not her favorite subject, she remembers math teacher Mr. Conrad getting the students involved in Lydia’s Math and the One Day Math Challenge. “I don’t know why I did it as I wasn’t that good in math, but it was a good experience.” The skills she learned in problem solving, critical thinking and working against the clock paid off in college.
“Band was a huge piece of my education I didn’t appreciate at the time.” She vividly recalls teacher Miss Mack as well as freezing in the stands and participating in competitions. “You don’t realize how many skills you’ve learned such as cooperating and making sure you practiced so you could contribute to the group.”
“Dr. Isola’s class was challenging, but he was always fair-minded, and you could tell he wanted you to succeed.”
Spare time isn’t always available, but Megan is still an avid writer and crafter. She describes herself as a “D & D nerd” and notes that it has now become a professional interest as D & D applications in tabletop games are used in some therapy.
During high school and college, she played trumpet including a little jazz in college. She then learned piano, and in the last year has been teaching herself guitar.
She has reconnected with some AHS classmates in recent years and spends time with her grandmother, who is now paralyzed.
Megan wants to stay in the Grand Rapids area as her overseas adventures has taught her to value her community and appreciate home. However, her excitement as she speaks of her travels makes the prospect of more travel adventures very likely in the future.
