Posted on Tuesday, June 2, 2026
When Megan Donaldson '14 first stepped on ¾¨Ó㴫ý's beautiful campus for a field trip with her 4th grade class, she knew in her heart WC was something special. Eight years later, she joined her older brother, Cody '12, already on campus and adds to the nearly dozen members of her extended family who've felt the connection, too, and who call themselves ¾¨Ó㴫ý alumni.
Drawing on her professional experience, career goals, and dedication to community service, Megan jumped at the chance to return to her beloved alma mater in 2025. As accessibility coordinator in the WC Office of Student Life, she is driven to help ensure every student has the opportunity to fully experience college life.
Tell us about your career journey since graduating from WC in 2014.
When I left WC in 2014 with a degree in elementary education, I never imagined an opportunity to come back. My first job was working in Youngstown City Schools as a preschool and early intervention program teacher. For the following decade, I had the privilege of working as a special education teacher and academic coach for the gifted program in the Sharpsville Area School District in my hometown of Sharpsville, PA. During this time at Sharpsville, I earned a Master of Education degree and also had an opportunity to grow my professional skills and challenge myself while gaining an understanding of cultural differences through teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to children in an online program. For the last several years, I’ve leaned into serving my community through United Way of Mercer County programming, like the adult literacy program and working with families whose lives are impacted by prison systems and more.
Now, as accessibility coordinator at WC, I am grateful for an opportunity to give back to the place that gave me so much, and I hope I can help other people find their way and get the college experience that they deserve.
What kind of activities did you participate in as a student at WC?
The list is rather long, but that was part of the full experience I received here at WC. I spent countless hours in the Argo office as layout editor and then editor-in-chief. I participated in the Disability Awareness Club, Greek Life, served as a resident assistant (R.A.) and a community advisor (C.A.) in Browne Hall. I was personally heavily invested, along with my brother, Cody, in the Colleges Against Cancer program and also helped with ¾¨Ó㴫ý’s Relay for Life. The Undergraduate Research and Arts Celebration (URAC) also filled my plate. Investing time in research opportunities and URAC-related programming was a formidable experience for me as an education major.
How did you end up choosing ¾¨Ó㴫ý to pursue your degree?
Well, the elementary school field trip really laid the ¾¨Ó㴫ý foundation for me. In high school, I was shopping around for schools and exploring majors when I connected with a recruitment counselor from ¾¨Ó㴫ý who was visiting Sharpsville. After that connection, ¾¨Ó㴫ý just felt right. However, during this time my brother committed to and began attending ¾¨Ó㴫ý, and I started thinking to myself that there’s no way I can go to the same school as my brother. Cody took me out to lunch one day and he said to me, “Megan, it’s OK for you to go here, too!” The rest is history.
Megan’s ¾¨Ó㴫ý Favorites:
Favorite professor(s): I had so many amazing professors at ¾¨Ó㴫ý. Dr. Andrew Ade stands out as a professor who challenged me and humbled me. I grew so much as a person in his inquiry class and continue to keep in touch with him to this day. Dr. Alison DuBois was also a changemaker for me as a student. I attended conferences, learned the importance of networking and how to network, plus gained understanding of research fundamentals, and learned what it means to be an education professional with and from Dr. DuBois.
Favorite place(s) on campus: The third floor of Old Main is a special place, housing the education department where I spent a lot of time. I also enjoyed the creative space that was the Argo Office on the third floor of McKelvey (MCC). The Argo office shared space with Scrawl, and The Holcad.
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