Meghann McLouth feels a kinship with Eagles who venture beyond their native Minnesota to study at American University. The AU Alumni Board member, who hosts summer sendoffs for incoming first-year students from the Twin Cities, identifies with their sense of adventure and willingness to be “comfortable with being uncomfortable.”
When she was a student, McLouth embraced the AU experience in its entirety, participating as a crew coxswain and a cheerleader, studying abroad in South Korea, working as a resident assistant in Anderson Hall, and pledging Delta Gamma. She also continued to explore her interest in the sciences, even as she majored in business.
A summer internship with the American Chemical Society after her first year at AU turned into part-time employment for the next three. “AU allowed me to have a broader perspective and more lived experiences,” McLouth says. “I had real skill sets and real work experience that I could show to future employers.” She carved out a career path that combined her business acumen with her scientific background, and today she’s a senior professional relations manager at Medtronic in Minneapolis.
University financial aid helped McLouth remain secure in her AU education, even after her mother’s unexpected passing during her junior year. That foundation of support inspired her own charitable giving to AU, which began soon after graduation, with annual donations to the Kogod School of Business and the Asian Pacific Islander Book Award Fund, among other areas. In recent years, McLouth has named AU a beneficiary in her will. “Losing a parent at a young age underscored the importance of an estate plan,” she says. “I always knew I would have a will and that I would include a gift to AU.”
McLouth’s investment in AU is personal and dynamic. Her volunteer leadership, the connections she forges with incoming students, and her financial support today and into the future are meaningful testaments to AU’s impact on her life.
For information on how your charitable estate plan can create a legacy as part of American University’s Change Can’t Wait Campaign, contact Seth Speyer, executive director of planned giving, at (202) 885-3411 or speyer@american.edu; or visit american.edu/plannedgiving.