By: Pam Haynes, Class of 2009, director of media relations at High Point University
A story that puts life into perspective unfolded on campus just in time for Thanksgiving.
It came after a heavy week when Paris, Beirut and cities around the world were attacked. Students mourned and searched for answers at a prayer vigil in the chapel.
Local reporters called many times to see if our students studying in Paris were safe or if they had friends and family in the area. The threat of terror was the news hook of the week.
And then I met Megan.
She was glowing when I introduced her to Fox 8 reporter Kim Wynne. Kim was, like all of us at HPU, blown away by Megan’s story. And Kim came to campus that day to share it with folks watching at home.
Kim put Megan and her mother, Angie, on a couch side by side so she could interview mother and daughter together. Megan explained her daily battle with cystic fibrosis, which includes but is not limited to fists full of pills, hours of breathing treatments, and the worry of a life cut too short.
When it was Angie’s turn to talk, she talked about how grateful she was for Megan to have a future. The way she said it was powerful.
“How lucky am I that I have the privilege to miss my daughter because she’s going to college and not because she lost her life?”
She had tears in her eyes when she said it. So did I and everyone else nearby.
And there were a lot of people nearby that day.
A few hours before the interview, Megan had been hundreds of miles away in her hometown of Venetia, Pennsylvania. She thought she was going to her high school’s district office to sign a form that day, but instead, she got a big surprise.
The High Point University admissions team flew all the way from High Point to reveal that Megan was the first admitted student to the Class of 2020.
They did it all because of her bravery, her academic accomplishments, and her poetically articulate video that she included in her HPU application.
After they watched it, they knew. Megan embodies the HPU mantra. She chooses to be extraordinary every single day. She chooses to overcome, daily, more challenges than most of us will ever face.
So they flew up to give her the honor of first admitted student – a first for any student admitted to HPU. And they flew her right back to campus afterward so her family could enjoy time at High Point University, Megan’s future home.
Kim reached out to me earlier that week when she was looking for story ideas. I knew I had one when she called. Kim and cameraman Zach were there in the lobby of the Wrenn admissions building when Megan’s family arrived and the entire admissions team shouted and cheered and waved HPU purple pompoms as Megan walked in. She lit up. She cried. And she hugged a lots of new people. Then she and her mom sat down with Kim to tell the story of their journey to HPU.
So if you haven’t watched it yet, see the Fox8 story here. And when you sit at the Thanksgiving table, keep Megan and her mom in mind. Maybe you’ll be stuck sitting next to grumpy Uncle Joe. Or obnoxiously loud Aunt Sally. Maybe something heavy will be weighing on your heart. Or maybe there will be bad news playing in the background on the TV. There will always be those things that cause us to forget how lucky we are.
But fortunately, there are people like Megan who remind us how grateful we should be.
Happy Thanksgiving.