“I am from South Carolina and was on the track team at the University of South Alabama. I have loved sports since I was a kid and played everything. One of my favorite memories is pole vaulting in competitions on Dauphin Street. 

Everything I do is to help people—mentally or physically. I am a recreational therapist working with youth and adolescents at BayPointe. I also coach track at St. Paul’s Episcopal School and teach recreational therapy classes at South. My passion is using adaptive sports to help people with physical disabilities, spinal cord injuries, and traumatic brain injuries.

Anyone can be athletic or active outdoors, no matter what their situation is. If someone loves fishing but can no longer use their arms, there are ways to fish again. If they are in a wheelchair but love playing basketball or football, we can help them play the sport from their wheelchair. 

We don’t have many programs or facilities in south Alabama that encourage healthy lifestyles for those with physical disabilities, but the needs are here. My goal is to open a facility for adaptive sports like the Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham with the space and training for a variety of sports, recreation, and fitness classes. I also want to start an adaptive track program; there are many ways to change expectations and provide alternative competitions. We can even help blind people become runners.

I started photography as a hobby in college when I took pictures of my teammates competing in their events. Now I do photo shoots on the side. I am having holiday shoots for friends from work because most of them don’t have time to slow down and take pictures with their families. I grabbed a few things from my house to make it fun.

We are shooting photos at the Fairhope beach, and it is good to see the long blue mats providing wheelchair access. We can do so much more to help people with disabilities feel accepted and included. I want everyone to have the same opportunities that I have.”

Megan 

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Megan’s story is a part of a series about the Weavers—people stitching our communities together, solving problems, and showing how to care for our neighbors. Send a message to Our Southern Souls to suggest a Weaver from your community to be featured on Souls.