Megan MacDonald is the Head of Philanthropic Partnerships at Equitech Futures. The below comments were obtained shortly after the completion of her undergraduate career while she was working at the California Institute of Technology.
“When I was a child I often told me parents, ‘I don't know what I want to be or what I want to do when I grown up, but I do know that I want to know a little bit about EVERYTHING!' A little about language, about culture, about philosophy – about anything that would allow me to engage someone, no matter where I am, in a conversation. History provided the foundation for that quest. I chose to major in history because I believe that fostering connections among individuals, communities, and philosophies is the best way to steward relationships. The knowledge I gained from the History Major at Illinois catapulted me into a journey of life-long learning and was the basis from which I went on to earn a Master’s degree in Socio-Cultural Education at UCLA. This has led, in turn, to my current position at CalTech. Without my background in history, I would not have the same success in relating to alumni, I would not be able to support and advise faculty and other senior leaders, and I would not have the ability to grasp the intellectual content of complex scientific research and to communicate this in a way that advances the Institute’s priorities. Although one may not normally correlate history with philanthropy, there is nothing exclusive of history. Everything has history.”