For senior Megan Lipe, her time at Rockhurst has been defined by her dedication to becoming a doctor, passion for giving students unforgettable experiences and being a role model to look up to on campus.

When coming to college, Lipe’s goal was to get out of her comfort zone and join different organizations. Throughout her years at Rockhurst, she has been a resident assistant, orientation leader, peer coach, student instructor (SI), biology club president, and Student Activities Board (SAB) president.

Lipe joined SAB as a freshman and immediately fell in love with being able to provide fun, entertaining and wholesome events for the student body. This allowed her to make lasting friendships, but also take on more responsibility. During her junior year, Lipe was elected to be the president and has since overseen all the events throughout her senior year and is looking forward to wrapping her term up with Rockstock.

While balancing academics and involvement, Lipe has always wanted to pursue a career in medicine. She looks back at times when taking extremely hard classes towards her organismal biology degree and is proud of how she overcame obstacles.

“I remember my sophomore year when I took Organic Chemistry. I was super nervous because I had only heard about how hard the class was, and so I didn’t know if this was going to be the roadblock that kept me from going to medical school in the future,” said Lipe. “When the first test came back, I remember being so anxious flipping that paper over to view my score. But, I passed with flying colors, and the next test came back with even better results than the first. Going back to my room that day I knew that I could tackle this class and anything else that came my way on my journey to medical school.”

Her dedication to her future and her confidence in herself has led her to a spot on the Dean’s List throughout every semester at Rockhurst.

After graduating, Lipe’s plan is to attend medical school at Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine. Her hope is to stay in rural medicine and practice family medicine, or become an OBGYN.

Most important of all, Lipe’s contributions to Rockhurst have made her into a familiar face and a role model for students to look up to. Though she graduates in May, her influence inside and outside the classroom will remain with those she has encountered.

Lipe’s advice to students is “Enjoy the little moments and give yourself grace. Things are going to be different in college, and that is okay. Take care of yourself and study, but also go on those spontaneous trips to Andy’s in the middle of the night and say yes to movie marathons until 4am – you won’t regret it.”