Megan McInerney: Admirable Leader
Megan McInerney is a fun-loving young woman who positively affects everyone she meets. She is a spontaneous, yet driven, young woman who is adored by her friends and family.
Holly Girtman met Megan when they began attending East Carolina University and has known her for almost four years. She described the friendship she and Megan have by saying, “I want her in my life, forever!” Everyone who I contacted about Megan shared this sentiment.
Megan was born in Chicago, Illinois where she lived with her family until she was ten years old. Her mother Liz described Megan as having a great imagination, being very determined, and charming. Liz says that those are qualities that Megan has carried with her into adulthood.
Upon leaving the Midwest, Megan and her family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina to explore new opportunities. She attended Southeast Raleigh High School before graduating from East Wake High School in 2005.
After she graduated from high school, she decided to attend East Carolina University and work towards a degree in Public Relations.
Throughout her life, Megan has always been a loyal and loving member of a large family. Her family is somewhat unique in that they take large vacations with family members from all across the country once a year. Some places that they have visited have included Paris, Italy, and Maegan’s Bay in the Virgin Islands. Maegan’s Bay was one of Megan’s favorites. On a private beach, cabana girls would wait on the patrons.
Megan was a lively and creative leader amongst the younger crowd on family vacations. Her mother told me that she would often organize her cousins to make a wild and crazy movie during the trip. She played multiple roles as writer, director, and performer in the movies that her Mom said, “truly made the McInerney family laugh uncontrollably.”
As she got older, Megan has used the same traits that make her a good family member to be a great friend.
Megan’s friend, Stephanie Cooke, spoke about Megan as being extremely caring and loyal. If Stephanie needs something, she says she can always count on Megan.
One of Megan’s other best friends, Holly, described Megan as a people person and a good listener, even though she sometimes gets irritated when she has to listen to someone complain about trivial problems.
Megan is a natural leader. Aside from corralling her cousins for family movies, Holly says she is also the organizer of her friends. She decides when and what they will do. Holly also illustrated Megan’s outgoing and creative qualities. One of Holly’s favorite memories with Megan was last year when the two college students built a fort in the middle of the living room purely out of boredom. They reverted to being little kids again. They talked and were carefree late into the night before falling asleep underneath a ceiling of blankets.
Megan is a very strong-willed person. This is especially apparent when dealing with adversity. When Megan’s grandfather Bruno Ruchniewicz died, her mother Liz said it was Megan’s strength that helped her the most. At that time, along with being a compassionate family member who was always a shoulder to cry on, Megan wrote what her mom said was, “an unforgettable poem,” that was read at the eulogy.
Liz McInerney had still more praises for her daughter. Liz said that Megan’s instincts are incredible and agreed with Megan’s friends in describing her as being very trustworthy. She stated that Megan’s best quality of all is that she is a straight shooter. She doesn’t play games and will always let you know how she feels. This may hurt at times or cause others to be uncomfortable, but it also means people will know where they stand with Megan.
Megan’s straightforwardness could help her with her career aspirations as a corporate recruiter. Through conversations with Megan and her family and friends, I learned that she has been driven toward this goal since high school.
Her inspiration came from her job at a tanning salon. She became friendly with one of the regular customers. The customer always seemed particularly cheerful and Megan wanted to know more about her. After a few conversations, the customer told Megan about her occupation as a corporate recruiter. From there, Megan was hooked and it has been a goal ever since.
In doing this profile, I discovered that Megan has used her imagination, determination, strong will, and charisma to become someone who is loved and cared about by friends, family, and strangers alike. She tells it like it is and is driven to accomplish very specific goals. But she also has fun doing it and makes people smile along the way. Alone, with family, or with friends, she is an admirable and creative leader.
Filed under: Classmate Profile