Welcome!
I am Megan Griffin, an English Education major at the University of Mary. I began my time at UMary with a passion for reading and writing, and I am finishing here having fallen in love with teaching and working with teens. My home is Bismarck, ND, where I graduated from Century High School in 2017 and participate in community activities like bands and bible studies. Now, I am blessed to be the youth minister of the high school youth group I used to attend at Corpus Christi Catholic Church. I also teach private violin lessons to students of all ages. Since my family is still centered in Bismarck, I frequently get to spend time with my three brothers, my sister-in-law, and my parents. We love camping, hiking in the Badlands of western North Dakota, kayaking, and playing board games. Servant Leadership
The University of Mary has provided me with many opportunities for servant leadership. It also frequently reminds us that the best leaders are servants to their teammates and their communities. I have participated in UMary's annual Day of Service at both St. Vincent's Care Center and Annunciation Monastery where I assisted in upkeep both indoors and outdoors. Through our ELA program, I also got the opportunity to help coordinate a trip to St. Gabriel's Community, an assisted living facility, to spend time with the residents and assist in organization of library materials and resident rooms. I also helped organize a trip to the Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch where we spent time playing games with teens who do not typically have many positive influences. This past year, we adopted fifth graders as pen pals in order to help them realize their potential for success. I am an active servant leader in a retreat program called Search for Christian Maturity. I have had the opportunity to coordinate elements of these student-run retreats for the past six years. Through Search, I work with high school and college-age participants to grow in ministry and leadership. I also practice servant leadership through music. My family volunteers to play mass music at St. Gabriel's Community several times a month. I am also involved in a community folk band called Braveheart which donates all our proceeds to families suffering through pediatric cancer. I love sharing with my violin students that they too can share their music talents freely with others. |
Through my experiences so far here in Bismarck, I have learned that behind every exciting event there are people who work hard to make things run smoothly. Leaders not only learn what needs to be done; they also trust their teammates' strengths. I believe some of the best leadership happens behind the scenes where hard work often goes unnoticed by those on the outside. That is where I have found most of my best mentors.