Salt Lake City, UT She didn't think it would happen that fast. She wondered if it would even happen at all. Just recently graduated from BYU, Megan Shaw, 24, knew that she would eventually want to get into a career that would allow her to use her Bachelor's degree in psychology. "I loved my degree! I loved what I studied! But, going into it, I knew that a BS alone in this field would not offer a lot job-wise." After months of planning and prayer, Shaw decided to not follow her original plan of graduate school, but to start work in a job that would allow her to use her education. Towards the middle of February, an opportunity to do this presented itself. After a good family friend gave her a tip on a position opening up for the State of Utah as an eligibility counselor, Shaw jumped right in. "I quickly put in my application! I didn't know what would happen, but decided that this was the start of something new." After finding out over 800 applications had been turned in, it was easy to get discouraged. "After getting called back for an interview and feeling good about how it turned out, I had greater hope. Maybe this could happen? Maybe I have a chance?" On Friday morning, Shaw was awoken from her sleep to the sound of a ringing phone, followed by her dad's enthusiastic voice calling from the top of the stairs. Rustling from her bedroom, she grabbed the phone feeling nervous about the news on the other end. "As soon as I heard the words 'You want to work for us?', I didn't know how to respond other than a girlish laugh and 'uh-huh.' I actually couldn't remember anything else that was said- probably wasn't that important, right?"
The experience was described as "bittersweet" due to the fact that taking this job would mean leaving another. Shaw has worked for the OP Lab at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center for a total of 4 1/2 years. "This is my home. This is where I grew up. I started as a freshman in college- 18 and so naive. These people have seen me through my whole college education, along with a 1 1/2 year break while serving an LDS mission in Arizona. They are my family!" Family or not, there is no doubt that this is the start of something amazing, a new phase. "I will say my good-byes, shed my tears, and give my hugs April 2nd. But on April 5th? April 5th I go in smiling with my sleeves rolled up, ready to start a new part of my journey." Go get em', tiger.