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Meet the Cheerleaders: Megan B

Thursday, December 27, 2007

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Megan says an innate love of numbers has helped her achieve a successful professional career as a child psychologist.

“It’s fascinating for me to administer IQ tests, and pick apart and analyze what children learn and how they learn best,” says Megan, who works at a 600-student elementary school in the St. Louis area, helping kids overcome cognitive setbacks. “We perform testing for kids who are having difficulties. Sometimes their strengths and weaknesses are not known until we test them. My job is to look for children with learning disabilities and psychological issues.”

Megan says she often meets with parents and students to address learning problems, and if further action is needed, she performs a full case study of the child’s abilities. That includes psychological testing and analysis of academic achievement, then the formulation of a plan to help the student progress. Megan assesses and assists kids exhibiting signs of developmental delay, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, behavior disorders, autism and other problems.

She has put in a lot of work just preparing for her career – seven years’ worth, to be exact. Megan received a bachelor’s degree in psychology, then a master’s degree in clinical child and school psychology, and finally a specialist’s degree in school psychology, all from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.

Though her career track is just getting under way, Megan already has earned praise for her work in the field of child psychology. She received an award from the Illinois School Psychologist Association for her study of cyber-bullying among children, and her research on that topic will be presented in February at the National Association of School Psychologists convention in New Orleans. “I’m very proud of that,” she says.

Not surprisingly, some of her favorite cheerleader community activities involve working with kids. Megan says she especially enjoys participating in events to help children with autism and other issues that can affect their educational development.

Megan enjoys traveling and attending musical theater performances. “My favorite musical of all time is Wicked!,” she says. “On the weekends, I love to go jogging and visit new places around St. Louis.”

The Granite City native says she began studying dance at about age four, learning ballet, tap, jazz and gymnastics. She performed with a youth dance group, the Glitter Girls, who made appearances at fairs and other events in the area. “There’s just something about performing,” she says. “I love the rush, especially at football games. There’s nothing like running out from that tunnel for the first time before the players come through.”