Meet our HCUCF Campus Celeb, Meghan Kircher! This real-life Leslie Knope holds multiple leadership positions on campus including, but not limited to, the Panhellenic Council President and the Student Government Association Speaker of the Senate. Essentially, if you are a member of a Registered Student Organization, she is your queen. Not only is she incredibly devoted to being the best Knight she can be, Meghan is also amazingly talented, beautiful, and altruistic. If she is not your woman crush EVERYDAY, you are doing it wrong.
HCUCF: Tell us a little bit about your involvement at UCF.
Meghan: I’m very involved at UCF, I try to spread myself as thin as I possibly can! I started my involvement with my sorority, Tri Delta, after going through recruitment as a freshman. From there, I joined the Student Government Association Senate and I became the LJR (Legislative, Judicial, and Rules) Committee Chair, and then the Deputy Pro Tempore, and now I am the Speaker of the Senate! I am also the Panhellenic President, so, I represent all 12 Panhellenic sororities at UCF, which is awesome. I sit on a lot of committees around campus too. I’m on the Student Conduct Board, the UCFPD Chief Advisory Council, the President’s Leadership Council, and…a few other committees. I love UCF and I love giving back because it has given me everything.
HCUCF: You said that you try to spread yourself “as thin as possible”; where exactly does that drive come from? Is that something that you learned growing up?
Meghan: I was really athletic when I was younger; I still run marathons, but I played pretty much every single sport growing up, so all year round I was doing something. Also, when I was in high school I was in student government. So my first year in college I wasn’t really as involved as I used to be back in high school and I missed doing all of the things that I loved back at home. Now I put as much on my plate as I can because that’s what is fun for me. I love seeing all the different aspects of the school and kind of having a taste of everything.
HCUCF: So you bleed black and gold essentially?
Meghan: Yes, I love it.
HCUCF: What is your favorite leadership position that you hold or have held in the past?
Meghan: Oh that is really tough. Panhellenic President and Speaker of the Senate are my two major roles that I hold right now, and they are both extremely different types of leadership positions, which is why it is so hard to pick which one is my favorite. As the Panhellenic President, I can get a little more creative, like the Women Helping Women campaign, which came out of seeing girls who were struggling with different things and wanting to help in any type of aspect. It’s awesome to be able to create that kind of programming, and I love being the Panhellenic President because I have access to administrators and chapter presidents and their chapter members who can make large impacts in our community. With Speaker of the Senate, it’s great because I can help out any other Registered Student Organization, so I can help out all of the students who aren’t Greek or maybe who are and are additionally involved in other organizations on campus. It is great to be able to help them go to conferences and do all these amazing things, like getting internships and jobs, and being able to have a hand in that as well.
HCUCF: Tell me a little more about the Women Helping Women series.
Meghan: So, the first portion of the series that I am working on right now is with the UCF Deputy Title IX Coordinator, Dana Juntunen, who is coming to speak at the next Panhellenic Council meeting (Wednesday, September 9th at 3pm), which are open to everybody, to help create awareness of resources that are out there for UCF students dealing with sexual misconduct. A lot of times, students think that the legal route is the only way that they can go if they’re victims of domestic violence, domestic abuse, dating violence, sexual assault, anything like that; but there are so many other resources on campus that can really benefit them at the collegiate level so they would not have to go the legal route. Because I am so involved, I know all of these options that people can utilize, and I just wanted to kind of open that up for our students. Also, I am working on a program event with Florida Abolitionists where the goal is to go out and educate different hotels in the Orlando community about what human trafficking looks like, what kind of suspicious activity they should look out for, and that way we will be having a more hands-on approach to the programming and really making a difference and really educating people; which, I think, would be a great opportunity. In the month of October we’re focusing on women’s health, and I am working right now to get a mobile mammogram bus to come to UCF that would be open to alumni, faculty, and staff as a way to give back to our community. And lastly in November the focus will be on getting people registered to vote to encourage all of our students to do their civic duty this time next year. The Women Helping Women series is really just about that, you know, having Panhellenic women support these programs that can help other people in our area.
HCUCF: As we are beginning to start up election season for UCF’s Student Government Association, what kind of opportunities are there for students looking to go beyond just their ‘civic duty’?
Meghan: In SGA’s Legislative Branch we actually have something called SLC, Senate Leadership Council, which is for people who are interested in learning how being a Senator works. So, if you are interested in the funding aspect, the internal side of things, or how SGA’s statues and our constitution work, you can learn all of that in the SLC program. Other branches also have their various leadership opportunities too, like the Student Body Advisory Council (SBPAC) and Judicial Leadership Council (JLC).
For more information on these leadership opportunities, or to view open applications, visit http://ucfsga.com/
HCUCF: What do you think has been the most rewarding thing about holding leadership positions here at UCF?
Meghan: The most rewarding thing has been seeing people around me grow from what I have produced. For instance, when I was a Rho Gamma last year [Recruitment Counselor for the Panhellenic Council’s Formal Recruitment], I would do small things, like, talk to a girl who was confused about where she belonged; those small things sometimes can make the largest impact. This year, that same girl who was in my recruitment group came up to me and thanked me for everything that I did to help her out. That meant more to me than any type of recognition or title ever could, because I helped her find her friends and where she is supposed to call home for the next four years.
HCUCF: Personally, how has your sorority experience helped you grow since you first became a member of your organization?
Meghan: When I came in as a freshmen I was from out of state, so, I did not know anybody and joining a sorority helped me make friends first and foremost. After I joined I met awesome girls who motivated me to be better and one of my sisters, Sheridan Kushner, became a role model of mine and really inspired me to take on every opportunity I could. I would not be Panhellenic President without my sisters, and it is incredible to be able to share these leadership opportunities with my sisters. Cait Zona [the Student Government Association President], for instance, is not only my sister and my roommate, but she is my best friend. Both of us being able to take on huge leadership roles in different branches of SGA has been awesome because we always support each other no matter what.
Kircher and Zona after the SGA Election Commission announced the winners of the 2015-2016 SGA Presidential Debate
HCUCF: Alright last question, what advice do you have for students who are looking to get more involved on campus?
Meghan: I would say it is never too late to get involved. As a senior, I know a lot of people are intimidated and think that it’s hard to get into something, or hard to learn, but you will never know until you try. When I first came into Senate, I felt like a deer in the headlights and had absolutely no idea what I was doing, and now I’m leading the branch. Don’t be afraid, and don’t be intimidated, because having confidence in knowing that you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to is one of the most important lessons you can learn.