Megan C.'s TOO MANY EXCLAMATION POINTS
Megan C.'s TOO MANY EXCLAMATION POINTS
34, Assessment Director, South Carolina
The perspectives and stories shared in this conversation reflect only those of the speakers and in no way represent the viewpoints of their employers or connected organizations.
Megan is a 34-year-old assessment director working in higher education. During this episode of TOO MANY EXCLAMATION POINTS, she shares about advocating for paid parental leave, the positive influence of being a connector and the professional book everyone should read.
Please note: Our conversation has been edited and condensed for this newsletter. Enjoy the full conversation with Megan on the TOO MANY EXCLAMATION POINTS podcast.
Who are you, what do you do for a living, and what are you passionate about right now?
Hi! Thanks for having me. My name is Megan, I use she/her pronouns and I work at the University of South Carolina in the Division of Student Affairs and Academic Support, specifically in the Department of Student Life. And the way that I share it with people is that we have a lot of the fun and engagement on a college campus that students interact with and build skills with outside their residence hall, but also outside the classroom. What I do day-to-day, I like to say I’m a data diva, but I work in assessment. So, I get to see all the true engagement by numbers and focus groups on our campus, which is pretty incredible.
A little more personally, I am a mother, an advocate, a sister, I am a middle child which is fun, I’m a podcast enthusiast, so this is beautiful to be part of, and I’m an educator. There’s a lot of life learning, but that’s really the core of me.
I love that! We can be dynamic individuals, we don’t have to fit into just one box. And even the things that exist within our career don’t have to be within one box! Can you Megan, share your 3-5 minute career story, from high school figuring out what you wanted to study in college to where you are now?
Everything started for me growing up with, why do people do what they do? It really just intrigued me from a psychological standpoint, so psychology was my focus when I went to college. For me, it was one of those things that with my family upbringing, my friends, the different communities I was part of growing up, that was a constant question in my head, “Why do people do what they do, why are things the way they are?” I just had so many questions and I wanted to understand the human response and what humanity has and how it scientifically navigates from a psychological mindset. My goal in life was eventually to become a psychiatrist and it was really where I wanted to listen to people, hear their journeys, help them figure out solutions and go from there. But, when I was in college I was really involved, I worked multiple jobs, working work-study programs — I was more of a survivalist on my college path. For me, it wasn’t until my boss when I worked on campus, she was the Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Students Affairs, an absolutely remarkable woman, and she tapped me and said, “You should do this for a living, you should look into this field.” And I had never heard of student affairs before on college campuses, when I looked into programs and talked to people on campus it was the perfect match. Then I went and got my Master’s Degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs at the University of South Carolina, and I stayed full-time. I worked in many different areas around campus and found my passion for helping people and helping others. That’s a theme that is constantly woven in my life. I found a job on a college campus, where I found meaning-making in my life, and I wanted to help pay it forward and pass that to students I would work with and staff that I work with. I really found my calling!
I work now in the Department of Student Life where I get to have that staff and student interaction. I get to look at strategic forecasting and strategic planning with the data and assessment work that I do every day, but then I get to build relationships, that’s a big part of my role and a big strength of mine. It’s been everything to me, so I feel like I’ve found a fit in what I do and the career I have now, and I feel like I’ve been able to make amazing change by being able to understand my strengths and then by leaning into the journey that unfolds and navigating with the ups and downs throughout the years. I’ve been here now for twelve years, met my husband here, we have two beautiful kids now, so it’s just been remarkable. And even meeting wonderful colleagues from across the nation, it’s just been wonderful.
You’ve been in your current position now for about six years doing assessment work, you touched on it a little bit, but what about this work keeps you excited and motivated?
I remember molding into this role six years ago, almost seven years ago now, and it was the leadership. That is what mattered to me to be able to take this initiative on and say, “Hey, are you committed to having this work at the table with other leaders? Are you committed to making this a priority within our department, and for our students, and for the experience of our community?” And if I didn’t have that buy-in from leadership and that commitment, I would not be doing what I’m doing today. I really do believe that leadership matters, wherever you are, but that your direct supervisor is a direct link to the work that you produce and to your happiness in the workplace, as well. I have been very fortunate over my career at the University of South Carolina to have incredible supervisors, for me I wouldn’t be who I am without their tapping into my strengths, without their energy, and their motivation to me and for me, and they’re challenging. Something that I really harp on, the Associate Vice President of my department used to be my direct supervisor, but she and I still present and go around and talk about radical candor often around the university, and it’s that concept of caring personally, but challenging directly. We have that culture in the office that I am in and the department that I am in, so we always want to innovate, do better, be better, we want to learn from other institutions, we want to challenge. So, it’s that constant adaptation, constant evolving that I’m able to do in my role that doesn’t let everyday be mundane. And I think that’s where a lot of people get caught, when they’re stuck in an environment where it’s the same old thing everyday, and I’m fortunate enough to be in a role where I don’t have that problem. I get to lead what I focus on everyday, but it is multiple projects and connections with people all around campus that elevates my work and the work that enhances the student experience. For me, it’s great! It has not been dull at any point, I feel like the field and culture of higher ed is continuously evolving and is in the heat of a lot of state legislatures, but I don’t believe it’s ever going to be going away, we’re just going to be continuously evolving and adapting, which is the beauty of what I do.
I think what’s also unique about the work you do, is you literally see the data everyday about the value of a college experience outside of academics. There’s such a value in the community that’s built on a college campus and the opportunities and experiences that students get to have — and you see that every single day in the data and the people that you work with.
I’m very affirmed that students enjoy and love what our department does. That is a part of my role is to spread that good news. We call it closing the loop, you have to give that data. There’s responsibility with what we do, there’s fiscal stewardship connected to everything, so we have to share the things that are working and the things that are not. I really utilize my relationships to help staff see that it’s not about them, it’s about the student experience. So, it’s been really rewarding to help people take that personal out of it and just see that we have to keep continuously improving, adapting, flexing to meet the needs of our students and where they are, and also the future students that are coming in.
You mentioned earlier that you are a mom, like many moms, you have navigated your career, responsibilities at work, commitment to your community while preparing for and then ultimately caring for your children. Can you talk a little about the impact that your two children has had on the way that you think about your career trajectory and your career journey?
Yeah, I went from being career obsessed to then being family obsessed. There’s a scientific term “matrescence” that happens when women become mothers, and then just in general, our whole body chemistry is different, our brains are different. I went down a lot of rabbit holes, I’m an input soul when we talk about CliftonStrengths. So, in parenting, and I think this is so funny because it is the one thing in this world where you don’t have to take a test, you don’t have to take courses, you don’t have to do anything, and you get to take home this small child and care for their well-being and safety and health. It is the most beautiful and chaotic and incredible journey, but it’s been the most challenging and rewarding. For me, the matrescence piece that I felt, I feel like I’m a different person. I was very career driven before kids where work was a big part of my identity and that has completed shifted. I used to hear from mentors, old and young, that would say “you’re not your work,” and that was hard. When you’re a new professional in the field, you are trying to do the daily grind because you want to make a name for yourself, figure out how you can set your tone, and how you are perceived, and the deliverables you can give, and how dependable you are. And I feel like in my career, I did set that tone early on to be that relational, dependable soul that my unit, my team, any stakeholder could count on. But when I became a mother, that shifted, not that people couldn’t count on me, but I almost quit my job. And people are in awe when I share that, but it was such a deep core of my being that felt like “wow, how is our world at this point where work matters so much more than that family unit.” And I saw a billboard recently that said, “Work can’t work if there’s not affordable childcare.” You go into this whole world of motherhood where you learn that my paycheck every two weeks is just enough to cover what daycare costs are, so I break even. That is insane. So for me, I had a really big shift in do I feel value in the work I do, do I feel like I’m giving back to my community? Because if I didn’t, I don’t think you would see me here today in the role that I have. Your why, the passion you have for your work, matters so much because if I had a role that I didn’t care about, I would 100% quit to be home and be with my kids. For me, it was taking that leap and chance and having that faith to really know that I’m going to give it a try to do the working mom lifestyle, and I learned to love it. And I learned that it helped keep my identity separate from just being all work, from just being all mom. I learned that there are so many facets to our identities and all the different pieces of my heart and my being at play. It enabled me to see how important connections in the day-to-day matter to me. Truly, and people who know me well, I’m an ambivert soul, even in the Myers-Briggs, I’m an INFJ. I flip on a switch when I come to work and get all my energy out, and again that introversion and extroversion is all about how you re-juice yourself, how do you get your battery back up. And for me it’s quiet, it’s being alone, it’s being to myself and when you’re a parent you don’t really have that at home right when you come back from work, so I really had to learn that balance. The impact now is that I really want to be a wonderful mom, I want to remain always the wonderful colleague, and I want to do the work that I was hired for, and I want to do that well.
So, if people tap me for other projects, I now have more of a philosophy where I look at everything that’s happening in my world and I think, “Can I give it my best yes?’” And that has been my easier way instead of saying “no” to someone, and I feel like that’s a TOO MANY EXCLAMATION POINTS moment, but I’ve learned that to give your best “yes,” you need to be 110% in. Now that’s my way of letting people know, “I have a lot going on whether its personal or professional, I can’t give you my best yes, but thank you for thinking of me, and please keep me in mind for the future with XYZ,” and that has been such a momentous thing, but I do feel more balance. And I feel like with my career trajectory, truly I want to remain happy and feeling value in the work that I do, and that I can make an impact in the work that I do. That’s really where my career goes now — it’s not this keep leveling up moment, it is having those really introspective reflections in having enough time with my family and being happy with what I do. I had to do some data before we chatted because I was curious how much time we spend at work around other people, our surroundings and environment. I found that it’s 24% of our week that we spend with people we work with. That is where we need to look internally and make sure “are we valued, do we feel like we belong, is there value in the work that I bring to my unit and community, do I align with the strategic priorities of the organization?” All these things have shifted in me, and I love to blame motherhood because it is the best identity shift I’ve ever had.
You have been a huge advocate at your organization for paid parental leave, can you talk a little about where people can start if they’re looking to advocate with their employer?
I think that first is learning your organization’s set-up. Is it public, is it private? Because there’s a lot of different policies, red-tape, boundaries that fall into those categories. So, working in a higher ed institution, a public, research-1 institution, we are governed by the state with our human resources policies. So, that in and of itself is a big factor in what we could and could not have happen at the university. Now, when it comes to advocacy, I think it’s so important to be evidence-based and data-driven with how you lead conversations. First of all, with whatever company you’re in, whether its education or the corporate world, what are the peer and aspirant organizations — what do they have? what is their retention rate? What is the impact of that, e.g. surveys, percentage of staff belonging, and then how can that contribute and connect with your organization and how its built and how it works? I think it’s important to have interviews, to talk with people, hear about those experiences, learn about what those companies do. Then, it’s about knowing your stakeholders. Who are the changemakers and the change agents? Whose voices are listened to the most or who has their foot in the door and can make those connections with you? Something to help you make those connections and have those conversations.
I think about the story with parental leave here in the state of South Carolina because it went for state employees. The story I know all started in our state house with a woman who worked for one of the state house members and she was pregnant and working to the very last moment until she was going to give birth, and it wasn’t until she shared her story saying, “I have to.” Otherwise, there’s only a certain amount of leave that I get post-birth, depending on what kind of birth, which that’s wild, and then I can’t use sick time for X reason past a certain moment and then if I don’t have annual leave, I can’t remain paid. It’s remarkable the loops and hoops we all had to go through. Knowledge is power, and it wasn’t until they sat back and said, “that’s not right,” and that was probably such an intimate conversation and turned the wheels, which then brought different conversations with lawmakers in the state house. And then boom, it became a bigger deal, and we had volunteer advocacy organizations on our campus pushing to our upper administration and our law and policy governance connectors who go to the state house. This is something that when those ripple effects happened, we were able to actually see that change come forward. Same thing with any organization advice-wise, is to get to know who your change agents are and the importance of storytelling. There’s so much power in the stories of the workers of what they experienced. And no organization wants to be slapped on the hand for being awful when it comes to certain things, so if someone is looking to make that change, do it, go for it! Always remember, though, and I used to hate hearing this, change takes time. That parental leave policy in the state of South Carolina was probably three or four years in the making, a long time coming and a short amount of time respectively, and it happened, and it was incredible. For my second baby, I was able to see that benefit and it was incredible to see that first-hand and to not have my leave taken away and remain paid.
You bring up a really good point, and that’s the reason that I’ve built this TOO MANY EXCLAMATION POINTS is because of the power of conversation, because of the power of knowing and knowing people’s stories and the impact that it can have just in the initial, “hmm that’s weird.” If you don’t know of someone’s experiences, and I’m not a mom so I don’t know what it’s like to go through maternity leave but just being aware of what others go through, I know that I need to save at least a week of sick leave or annual leave.
Yeah, it was me taking no leave for two years to save up enough to stay paid during your FMLA leave, it was wild.
Well, thank you for that work, on behalf of everyone in the state of South Carolina! I want to jump ahead, you’re a connector and an encourager in your community, you bridge gaps between people, you meet people where they are. Why has it been important for you to root yourself in the people of your organization?
I believe in connection. I think it is so powerful and it is a core human element to be connected to people and one another. And as we talked about earlier, 24% of your time every week is spent with the people around you at work. It is so important to get to know each other and getting to know what motivates you, what are people passionate about, the personal and professional side, right? Understanding boundaries and trajectories. For me, it’s all about getting to know their stories and connecting with others. One of my things is the quote from Maya Angelou which is, “At the end of the day, people won’t remember what you said or did, but they’ll remember how you made them feel,” and that is my complete way that I lead. I’m a very emotional being myself and I believe in the energy that we give one another. I just want to be the light and love that people see. There are other quotes like “A day without laughter is a day wasted,” and I 100% believe those quotes. So, I think for me, you have to understand people to then understand what drives and motivates, what encourages people, how to challenge and care for people, and that’s unique for every person. That’s my goal at the end of the day, but it does connect to my whole journey of the why behind who I am and how I tick. And I really love learning about people and getting to know them. It really helps elevate my work as well, just knowing if I can help others with their motivations, their goals, then I’m doing my best too.
That’s great!
RAPID FIRE
What is a piece of advice you received that has impacted the way you look at building and maintaining your career?
It is “Grow where you are planted.”
Hmm that’s a good one. What do you hope for yourself in 5 years?
I hope that I am just continuously filled in every day with value, with love, with support, with laughter. I want to feel aligned in 5 years to the work that I’m doing and the core of who I am.
What are you currently reading or what have you read recently that has stuck with you?
On a personal fun reading time, I got sucked into the BookTok life and am reading fiction romance and really love that on my time off. But, when I’m not reading for fun and if it’s more professional based, I really love, actually instead of reading, I love listening to the Radical Candor podcast. It’s really incredible. Kim Scott who leads it with her team is incredible. It’s just a different way to look at supervision, a different way to look at how you’re a supervisee. Again, how do you care personally and challenge directly.
Favorite thing to get you jazzed up before a big day?
It’s twofold for me. I start my day with a short meditation and then I put on music. So, really high energy, exciting music that lifts my spirit. And it can be various genres depending on the day, but I cannot start my day without doing those two things.
What is your preferred way to use vacation time or PTO?
With vacation time, I hope I’m exploring something new whether it’s a local coffee shop or a new small business, but if it’s travelling, it’s a new place and taking in what that culture and that community has.
What are you looking forward to right now?
I am looking forward to the next trajectory for myself in a volunteer scope. I am currently the president-elect for Staff Senate at the university. So, I am looking forward to really figuring out what that agenda is going to look like in the coming year, and I’m really excited to figure out what we’re going to advocate as a body for. I have some ideas that are popping up, but it’s something that a lot of leadership has been asking me. It’s all about bettering the staff experience and so I think that’s what I’m really looking forward to.
Finally, what is your TOO MANY EXCLAMATION POINTS right now?
I think the TOO MANY EXCLAMATION POINTS for me right now is how to lift other women up in the workplace. And this came from a post that I saw online from colleagues around the nation giving insight to someone that posted about what I would call the “heel stomp,” where women typically step on other women or don’t elevate other women. And so that has been churning in my brain as I’ve watched people react to someone talking about the great work they’re doing, and someone else is saying that they’re self-promoting. So, watching all these women go back and forth on how they interpret the situation but also how can we as women uplift one another and how can we share that “yes, you’re doing some amazing work and you should be tooting your horn and sharing the great impact you’re having,” and how do we then elevate and bring up other women with us as we elevate within the system. It’s both excitement and anxiety and that’s my TOO MANY EXCLAMATION POINTS for sure is how can we tackle that subject. Maybe a future topic for discussion!
Thank you so much to Megan for joining us this week and sharing the story of her career journey and life as a working mom. Our podcast together goes into even more detail, so I encourage you to take a listen.
Be sure to share in the comments something that Megan said that resonated with you or send this episode to a friend to encourage them on their career journey.
As always, I’m grateful you’re here and wish you a week ahead with only the best exclamation points! — Skylar