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The Edwardsville Rotary Club named Southern Illinois University Edwardsville College of Arts and Sciences senior Megan Walsh, of Toledo, Ill., the February SIUE Rotary Student Leader of the Month.

The anthropology major was nominated by Susan Kooiman, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and faculty advisor for the SIUE Anthropology Club, for her outstanding leadership style and revitalization of the club despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Megan is a natural leader and demonstrates her abilities when opportunity arises,” said Kooiman. “Her leadership shines in all levels from classroom and field projects to community action. Perhaps most importantly, however, Megan has learned to be a fair and humble leader. She always endeavors to represent the needs of everyone, is both transparent and fair, and makes decisions while incorporating the opinions and interests of others. Although being a strong leader may come naturally for many students, being a fair leader is indeed a unique characteristic. I cannot think of another person more deserving of the student leadership award.”

When she took over as club president, Walsh reorganized by setting up an email list, registering the club with the University and attending several University events for recruitment.

“Once I had a viable club it was about engaging them,” explained Walsh. “We hosted movie and game nights (starting with the Mummy, an archaeology classic), professor dinners, community service projects, fundraisers, etc. Due to the pandemic, we switched to a mostly online format hosting events like a virtual multicultural food night to celebrate national anthropology day as well as virtual movie nights.”

While she credits the revitalization of the club to the students who are involved, Walsh also mentioned how thankful she is to have had the support of Kooiman as well as Julie Zimmermann, PhD, chair and professor in the Department of Anthropology.

“Megan has proven an exceptional student leader this year,” Kooiman wrote in her nomination form. “In fall 2019, Megan took over as president of the Anthropology Club, which had been waning and struggling. By the time I took over as club faculty advisor in January 2020, Megan had revitalized and reorganized the club. Her enthusiasm and passion for anthropology and the club has spread throughout the other students and now there is a healthy membership, active participation and new students eager to take up leadership positions.”

When asked how she became interested in anthropology, Walsh replied, “I intended to major in physics, but as a freshman, I stumbled upon anthropology when I took Human Ancestry and Adaptations and fell in love with the field. I am a biological anthropologist and found that the discipline perfectly merges science with respect to history and culture.”

In addition to her position with the Anthropology Club, she is also the public relations officer of the SIUE Philosophy Club, a participant in the Legacy Advanced Leaders Program, and is a member of the American Anthropological Association and the Lambda Alpha Anthropology National Honor Society, both professional anthropology organizations.

After graduation this spring, Walsh plans to attend graduate school at either the University of Oklahoma or George Mason University. Her long-term goal is to complete her doctorate in bioarcheology and continue to teach, research and foster a love of anthropology in others. 

Walsh was honored at the Edwardsville Rotary Club meeting in March, and will be honored at the 2021 SIUE Kimmel Student Involvement Center Leadership Awards Ceremony the week of April 26.      

Photo: Megan Walsh, SIUE senior anthropology major.