Alumna travels country as part of MSU young alumni outreach
Megan Gebhart lives the life of a nomad.
Because of the nature of her current position with the MSU Alumni Association, which she has held for about a year, the MSU alumna rarely stays in one place for long.
“I literally was homeless for the past year, just constantly traveling and living with friends,” Gebhart said. “It’s a really interesting lifestyle.”
As a Young Alumni Engagement employee for the organization, Gebhart travels the country reaching out to MSU graduates to attempt to get them more involved with alumni groups in their area.
“Spartans love to help other Spartans, so these are great communities for young alumni to join,” Gebhart said.
When Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations and Executive Director of the Alumni Association Scott Westerman hired Gebhart, he said he knew she would be perfect for the position because of her natural ability to engage others.
“(Gebhart) embodies the Spartan that we all wish we could be when we finally get our act together,” he said.
When Westerman first met Gebhart while she was a student at MSU, he said he knew she was someone special because of her captivating personality and strong desire to be an involved member of society.
“Certain people just radiate magic,” he said. “There’s certain people whom you walk up to, and you know from the minute you meet them that they have a great heart. That was the feeling I got when I met (Gebhart).”
After spending more than a year having a weekly cup of coffee with complete strangers and blogging about the experience, Gebhart said she knew she wanted to continue expanding her network and somehow incorporate her love for socializing into her future career.
“It seemed like an offer that I couldn’t refuse because it involved traveling and meeting Spartans around the world,” she said.
While she works, Gebhart stays with friends, family or occasionally in a hotel room. Her trips usually last for about four days at a time and often require her to navigate areas she never has been to before.
Kelly Steffen, an MSU alumna who met Gebhart during college, said she loves having Gebhart stay with her at her home in Washington, D.C., because it allows them to catch up with one another.
“I get to hear about what’s going on in other parts of the country,” she said. “I think that’s really cool.”
Gebhart said one of her favorite parts of her job is the opportunity it provides her to listen to stories of other alumni she encounters.
“It’s really phenomenal to see how many Spartans are out in the world doing really incredible things,” she said.
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