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Meagan

When Meagan was studying environmental toxicology she met her now husband, Chris, at a grad school barbeque. Chris had moved from eastern Canada to the West to study computer science. When he was offered a postdoctoral (postdoc) position at Oxford; the couple decided to move to England and dive in a different lifestyle. “Oxford was like living in a storybook compared to North America. It was very pastoral and steeped in history. We were able to do memorable things like have a formal dinner with a Knight Commander, travel to Europe, and hike in the Lake District." Although, the couple appreciated the new experience in Oxford and Meagan was able to arrange a remote work situation, she “felt a pull back home.” “I missed the wilderness at home, the openness of the people… and I thought I was going to miss opportunities – career wise.” The couple made a joint decision for Megan to move home early in order for her to focus on her career.

When Chris moved from Oxford to Caltech for an additional postdoc, the couple maintained a long distance relationship. “It was good to have him in North America… it wasn’t exactly the same city but close. Long distance was tricky… When your saying good bye you always have to know when you’re going to see that person next… We did this for two years – fly back to see each other about every three months and we got married in between. It was an interesting thing going to our respective cities after that.”

Meagan reflects on one of her greatest learning’s: “In the end I realized for me, personally, it wasn’t just all about the money or the career… having that, there was still something missing and that was family. So, it made the choice easier at that point – family is what comes first and I will move down to California to join Chris.” Not only did Meagan enjoy being closer to family but she also appreciated California’s natural landscape. “I was very surprised. I didn’t think there were a lot of places that could be as wild and amazing as what I had seen in Canada. I was shocked that being so close to a metro centre, in just a couple hours away, you can have beautiful beaches, deserts and mountains. And you have this whole range of plant life that I had never encountered before. It was kind of like Oh! this I a nice place to live!”

While Meagan had time off and was waiting for her work permit, she began to research how she could get involved in the community. Meagan started volunteering at a local animal shelter, attending bird watching clinics and connected with the Caltech International Spouses Club [CISC]. “I did some googling, found CISC and said, ‘I think ill just give it a go.’ I joined the cooking group. Everyone was really nice and I thought ‘Wow, this is really interesting that they have this community and… support system’. [When] the person running cooking group was moving back to France they were looking for someone to help lead the group. And it was such a good group that I didn’t want to see go to the wayside… so I volunteered as the leader and it grew from there.”

Volunteering with the CISC cooking group inspired Meagan to develop a cookbook project and the gardening club: She explains her idea of creating a CISC cookbook was to act as a thank you to the sponsors who facilitate the cooking group and the members in it... “Look at what you created! …We meet these amazing people from different countries, we share their food, hear their stories, and then they move away and you kind of want the opportunity to remember that experience.”

The gardening club works together to grow produce and then it is shared at the cooking groups monthly gathering. “I wanted us to have this community engagement and ‘farm to table’ experience, to be proud of the work we put in to the garden, and grow food for ourselves. What makes me happy is that people not only work together to weed and water, but just go to see the garden too. It’s relaxing to them.”

Meagan explains that the time she has carved out of her schedule to give back to community has proved to be invaluable. “[Now that] I have integrated volunteer opportunities in my life I have more balance and…they have helped me to learn about myself. I think we often forget what we like to do and who we are outside of our jobs. [By] exploring these other opportunities I realized, Okay this is who I am outside of work! I also wanted to contribute to the community that had supported me.”

When Meagan needs a break she finds herself craving time in nature. “I feel like going out in to nature in to the wilderness is such cathartic experience. I’ve spent a lot of time in remote and wild areas for work and it teaches you a lot about yourself. It puts things into perspective and I'm stronger for it”. Meagan and her husband try to go exploring most weekends. “We look on the map in the radius around where we live and we work our way North, South, East, West. [Our trips] are usually related to the ocean, mountains, or desert…but some of our best experiences have been where we made a wrong turn, gone a different route, and just go with it!”

Created By
Amanda Priddle and Christophe Marcade
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Credits:

Christophe Marcade

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