Fresno State Athletics
A perspective from 8,000 miles away
4/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
By Jason Kelm
jakelm@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - She awoke at 4:30 a.m. to prepare for the day. Before heading to the compost pile, she paused and looked out toward the African sunrise. It was a moment of peace that wasn't always easy to come by. She took a second to take it all in. It was beautiful. Her mind was all-too-often racing, but this was a rare moment that she could clear her mind.
"It's important to put everything you have into something," said Fresno State lacrosse senior defender Meghan Macaulay.
She's done just that. It was the summer of 2014 and Macaulay was in Ghana, Africa, completing a five-week program through the University Studies Abroad Consortium.
"Every morning I woke up at dawn, watched the sunrise, and then worked on a composting project," Macaulay said. "There's a market on campus at the University of Ghana in Accra and we took the waste and dumped it in a compost pile. We made fertilizer out of it to get out to local farmers. There isn't a waste management system."
The political science major loved learning about government in high school. She didn't know what she wanted to do as a political science major at Fresno State, but after she took a sociology class with a focus on human rights and aid, she found her calling. Macaulay knew she wanted to work in international development and aid.
"I want to do something important," Macaulay said. "Why not now?"
A changed mind changed everything
Macaulay moved to San Diego, Calif., when she was six years old. She began her life in sports as a soccer player and eventually got her hands on a lacrosse stick in a middle school physical education class.
"They just gave us sticks and told us to throw the ball to each other," Macaulay said. "I thought it was cool and I saw a flier at school for a team. I kept playing and I got better at that than I did at soccer. I also love the culture of lacrosse."
She continued to play through high school and it became time to start thinking about the future and college.
"I was always going to play a sport in college," Macaulay added. "I decided that when I was in high school. It becomes your identity. That's who I was. When you're participating in sports for four hours a day, you can't just stop. I put so much time, effort and heart into this sport. I wasn't ready to stop that."
So Macaulay committed to Wellesley College in Massachusetts and was ready for the next stage in her life. Until Fresno State appeared on her radar.
"I was at a recruiting tournament even though I was already as committed as I could be to Wellesley," Macaulay said. "But I was invited to visit Fresno and after spending time with the team, I immediately knew this was where I wanted to be. The team was incredible and the Bulldog spirit in the community was awesome. Everyone loves Fresno State here. I thought that was really neat."
Macaulay is now wrapping up her Fresno State career as ninth all-time with the least amount of turnovers among any student-athlete to appear in at least 30 games and ranks 10th with 22 caused turnovers.
Now, she has her sights set 8,000 miles away.
With every end comes a new beginning
"I can still do everything that I want to do in life, I just have to push it back two and a half years," Macaulay said.
That's because Macaulay has decided to join the Peace Corps and will be heading to Cameroon, Africa for 27 months just days after graduation. Macaulay is also obtaining a minor in French, so going to a French-speaking country was on the top of her list.
"I think it'll be really cool to go in and make a difference somewhere," Macaulay added. "It'll also be really neat to live in a different culture. I have the time right now. There's nothing holding me back."
She was always fascinated by international politics and was always determined to make a difference. So it came down to law school or the Peace Corps. Macaulay's decision doesn't surprise fellow senior Jordyn Frew.
"Meghan is very ambitious," Frew said. "She's the type of person that gives 100 percent in everything that she does. She's very passionate about human rights issues, so I can see her being a strong influence and changing the world."
Macaulay feels that the Fresno State political science department has prepared her well for this next adventure in life. Her passion is to be able to help people and make an impact on the world. This is her opportunity to do just that.
"Living with people of a different culture for that amount of time is going to be the best part," Macaulay said. "Hopefully I'll come back with a better world view, a more humble sense of life. I'd like to think that I'll look at things with a different perspective. Not what you're giving them, but what they're giving you."
When Macaulay steps onto that lacrosse field for the final time on Sunday, she has her sights set on a new beginning.
"My problems don't compare to some of the problems other people face," she said. "I have the means and the time to help others, so why not? I get something out of it, too. I get a cultural piece, a different world view. When I come back, I can use that experience to help me in my career here. I'm so prepared. Coming to Fresno State was the best decision I could have made."
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