From Small Town to Big Possibilities

Four short years ago, Meghan Mullaly ’23 was just a small-town girl from Seward, Alaska graduating from high school and unsure of where her next steps would lead. The only thing she knew for sure was that she wanted to go to college.

Meghan’s cousin, living in Oregon at the time, was the first to tell her to check out Oregon colleges. Before Meghan knew it, her aunt had bought her a plane ticket to Oregon.

She wanted a smaller college since she’s from a small town, so she had plans to visit many liberal arts campuses. It was around Christmas time and Linfield was the only school she visited with winter decorations up. Just that extra effort, Meghan said, may have been something that made Linfield stand out in the pack.

After a high school soccer game, Meghan recalled, her principal asked if she had decided on a college yet. She said she was still unsure. He asked her a series of questions: which programs interested her the most, which school seemed to offer the most, which campus did she like best, etc.

“My answer to all of his questions just kept being Linfield, Linfield, Linfield,” Meghan remembered, “and he said, ‘Well, it looks like you know where you want to go!’” 

That night, Meghan accepted her invitation from Linfield.

Once Meghan arrived as a student on the McMinnville campus, it was time to explore areas of study. She grew up doing creative things like drawing, painting and taking photos of the world around her. And she was learning graphic design towards the end of high school.

This, coupled with the fun art classes and engaging art professors at Linfield, led Meghan to choose a digital art major and a studio art minor.

Art wasn't her only interest.

Meghan took some introductory classes in journalism and media studies (JAMS). After completing a few courses, JAMS Professors Kevin Curry and Jennifer Rauch seemed to be impressed with Meghan’s work and suggested she consider a double major.

Without the faith of these two professors, she would have never realized her potential in the communications field.

“I did the ‘math’ and knew I could complete both majors for graduation. Plus, I was on track to be done with my digital art major by junior year, so I needed classes to fill my schedule,” said Meghan.

The double-major appreciates how all her professors at Linfield have pushed her to do her best and truly care about their students. She’s had professors send her job announcements this year, illustrating that they care about her future too.

The community feel at Linfield is also something very unique.

“I can go up to anyone, whether it be a professor or a student, and talk to them and bounce ideas off of. It’s just very easy to make connections and get stuff done,” said Meghan.

Speaking of making connections, Meghan works as a student career specialist in the Office of Career Development. Students visit Meghan in the office for help with their resumes and cover letters, for mock interviews, and to network with Linfield alumni in the workforce.

Her campus involvement doesn’t stop there. She is  also a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority where she has been able to take on several leadership roles. Most notably, she was vice president II - new member coordinator, helping all new members of Zeta become familiar with the sorority and what it means to be part of the organization.

Meghan even received a scholarship through Zeta that helped pay for a portion of her tuition.

Meghan is also a:

• Writer and photographer for the Linfield Review
• President of the Camera Club
• Member of the Art Club
• Treasurer of Circle K

If there’s one thing she’d like others to know about Linfield, it’s that no matter who you are, there are endless opportunities across campus to get involved.

This year, Meghan studied abroad in Spain over January Term. After getting a taste for studying abroad in high school, she knew she wanted to take advantage of the opportunity at Linfield as well. The Spain program fit into her schedule and she knew that they would visit several art museums – so she was sold!

She didn’t know much Spanish going into the trip, but after, Meghan felt like her comprehension improved greatly.

“We weren’t just in one city, we got to move around, [and saw] how different the south of Spain is versus the north of Spain versus the coast,” Meghan reflects. “Just getting to see so much diversity within one country, that was pretty cool.”

Although Meghan’s college path wasn’t clear from the start, everything seemed to fall into place once she arrived at Linfield as a student. Now, thanks to the opportunities offered here, this small-town girl knows that she is prepared to do big things.