TU is proud to honor the 2018-19 Marcy Lawless Service Award recipient Megan Lowry for her generous spirit, creativity, vision, the pursuit of excellence and commitment to serving others, both on campus and in the community. As a Military Police Officer of the United States Marine Corps, Megan earned the Presidential Service Badge for honorable service to the president of the United States and had top secret security clearance. Lowry will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. One of her professors said, “I have worked with hundreds of TU students who provide service and leadership on campus and in the community. Ms. Lowry’s service and leadership activities are truly extraordinary.”
After providing security to the president during her military service, Lowry turned her attention to enriching the lives of veterans through training service dogs and involving herself in the TU Student Veterans Association. In the community, she volunteers with the Laureate Eating Disorders Program and dedicates service and leadership to the Native American community. Lowry contributes to TU’s diversity efforts by working with the Diverse Connections Committee and LINC mentorship program. Another faculty member says of Megan, “She is a real supporter of younger students. They look up to her, for understandable reasons.”
In the fall of 2017 — in the midst of a rigorous academic semester — Lowry used her military training, previous experiences in natural disaster relief efforts and her passion for helping others to quickly form a search and rescue team to aid recovery of victims of Hurricane Harvey. In her own words, Lowry describes the grueling search process: “Once we got the people out who wanted to get out, then we went back through and started getting out all the animals. Even if I don’t wear my uniform anymore, my service is never going to be over. Just knowing that something happens, whether it’s on American soil or worldwide, I have the heart to be there and help out.”
Lowry’s list of community and on-campus service is staggering. Her affiliations, past and present, include:
- United States Marine Corps, Military Police 2005-08; Presidential Service Badge for honorable service to President of U.S. and White House; Top Secret Security Clearance
- Service dog trainer for Wounded Veterans of Oklahoma
- American Humane “First to Serve Service Dog Program Manager
- Laureate Mental Health, eating disorders volunteer
- Vice president of TU’s Student Veterans Association
- Green Country Patriot festival director
- Hurricane Harvey disaster relief
- Women’s hiking leader
- Partners for Heroes
- President of TU’s Indigenous Society
- LINC Mentorship Program at TU
- Diverse Connections Committee for Diversity at TU
- Student Planner, Tulsa Indian Club Annual Powwow (2017, 2018)
- Honor Guard Member, Lenape Indian Nation Veteran’s Society
In celebration of Lowry’s incredible achievements, TU honored her as the 2018-19 Marcy Lawless Service Award recipient during the December 2018 commencement ceremony.