Laker Nation News

The Lake Land College Board of Trustees awarded the 2021 ICCTA Pacesetter Award to alumna Megan McQueen at the March board of trustees meeting.

McQueen, Laker Nation Class of 2013, is a school counselor in the Eastern Illinois Area of Special Education at the Kansas Treatment and Learning Center. She said she was humbly appreciative of the award, and she now has it proudly displayed in her living room.

“I‘m happy, and I’m grateful,” McQueen said. “It makes me feel really good about myself to know I have made a difference. I don’t do my job for glory, I do it because I know in my heart it’s what I am meant to be doing. They say if you love your job you’ll never have to work a day in your life, and that is very true for me.”

Having now earned a master’s degree in school counseling, McQueen said she began her college journey at Lake Land College with no major in mind and no clear path to accomplishing her goals.

With hard work and determination as well as assistance from TRIO Student Support Services, McQueen worked her way through college, graduating with an associate degree in art and a 3.371 GPA.

As a nontraditional student, McQueen said her path was not always easy, but that attending Lake Land helped guide her toward her goals.

“Community college has so many options for people to explore,” McQueen said. “The level of attention the instructors give to their students and the different ways the college helps people are unmatched. Now I always recommend community college first.”

McQueen continued her education by earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology as well as a master’s degree in school counseling. She even completed an internship at Lake Land College while working toward earning a master’s degree. McQueen said it was during her time at Lake Land that she realized she wanted to pursue her dream of working with troubled children.

“I felt somewhat excluded as a kid,” McQueen said. “I knew I wanted to help others and children in particular.”

McQueen is now doing just that in her position at the Kansas Treatment and Learning Center. Often counseling children during difficult times, McQueen said she is glad she pursued her goal and is able to be in a position to help.

“I love my job,” McQueen said. “Sometimes I get hugs from students I have struggled to connect with all year or get asked to eat lunch with students who had never spoken to me before. It is those moments that make me so happy I can make a difference doing what I love.”

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