Megan Alvarez
Roots and Wings
story by ROBIN COKER
photos courtesy of the ALVAREZ FAMILY
If you ask most, they will tell you that the children are our future, and they will be right. It would be wise then to pay close attention to the ones who are laying a crucial blueprint for success, to the people, places, and habits that have aligned them into a position that cultivates a positive change on society. The most influential and impactful individuals who have accomplished such an important feat will tell you that their ability to thrive in this arena couldn’t be made possible without standing on the shoulders of the giants who came before them. Megan Alvarez is no different. If we could all tear a page from this narrative, we may gain some insight on how to fully step into purpose, while not losing a single moment of being fully present for all the little joys adolescence has to offer, we may all benefit.
Currently a student at Beaufort High School with an affinity for mathematics and fashion, Megan is about to jump into the next season of life, having been accepted into the University of Pennsylvania to pursue a premed path with an end goal of practicing dermatology. She will be spreading her wings full of ambition yet still grounded to the roots of the town and family who have supported and taught her how to fully embrace every opportunity and to leave everything she touches a bit more beautiful and more sustainable than before.
Megan’s parents, both having landed themselves in Beaufort after being raised in the Philippines, have called Beaufort home for the duration of her whole life. Being raised here has had its perks for Megan, and although her family spans from Beaufort to California and even across the globe to the Philippines, a top priority for all of them is staying a very tight-knit group. Megan gives credit to many when asked who has been the most influential in her journey up to this point. At the top of her list are her parents, who have instilled in her drive and incredible ambition, both of whom settled in America to pursue careers in the medical field. Looking back, she also feels strongly about the influence instilled by a very early caregiver. Mrs. Linda Peters, a woman who cared for Megan as a kindergarten teacher, managed to teach her multiplication tables before most could ever read or write. A woman who, to Megan’s memory, also had somewhat of a mini zoo of animals, instilled a subconscious discipline to persevere, “She taught me to always do my best.” Megan also shares her family culture through the love of cooking, something her grandmother has gifted to her. “Everything she cooks, she creates with love, and it makes all the difference. She has taught me to do the same.” Anyone who has interacted with this young woman may say this lesson transmutes into everything she gets her hands into, and if you ever get an opportunity to sit at the table to be served by this family, request the pancit!
Megan is preparing to set off to Philadelphia, PA, where she will be jumping into a premed path. She will also be carrying with her the Heritage Scholarship and Charlie Brown Award to study biology and neuroscience, and perhaps upcycling clothing as an art form in this new city in her spare time. Of her many interests and passions, she has also managed to pour herself into the local nonprofit sector, working alongside CAPA as a Key Club leader, among other numerous local efforts to support the community, such as connecting her peers with our local seniors during COVID. “Letters for Rose” is a project in which local students link up with our community assisted living, pairing up individuals as pen pals, a very welcome and much-needed platform that keeps us all connected in a time when the world was so incredibly disconnected.
A young woman with the world at her feet, Megan feels the most important message she would have for her peers and all those to follow is that academics and community are essential for the big picture, but not to get so caught up in all of the bullet points needed for future success that you forget to enjoy each day given. “Exams, academics, preparing for college, all the things that we must do can be stressful and entirely necessary. These things are important, but memories of baking cookies in class and making new friends at school have impacted me more than any test taken or score received! Enjoy high school. Be with your friends, enjoy the present, and make unforgettable memories. We are never going to be given this time back. Also, GO QUAKERS!
If you want to wish Megan a happy farewell before she sets sail, you can find her downtown. She is currently pursuing one of her many passions learning the aspects of fashion design and merchandising while working at Serendipity, one of our many locally owned shops on Bay Street!
