Meghan Doyle is from and still resides in the Region. She attended high school in Portage when she was a teenager, and after graduation she studied at Purdue University in West Lafayette, double-majoring in elementary and special education. Working for Valparaiso Community Schools, she both enacts and oversees various policies about the halls in which she teaches. She’s in applied skills, so every day she assists students in gathering real-world knowledge about what exists beyond the walls of their school.
Doyle’s mother was a teacher as she grew up, so she would frequently visit her classroom. As a result, her connection to wanting to instruct kids needing special education precedes her college days because it was formed when she was just a young girl. She has always been fascinated by what goes on in an applied-skills setting. She even worked as a direct support professional at a children’s group home throughout all the time it took her to earn her bachelor’s degree.
Moving on from the cozy corner of Lake County, Doyle lived in Indianapolis for a brief period of about four to five years where she taught seventh and eighth grade. She came back to Northwest Indiana in October of 2018, and it appears she’s here to stay. After all, she loves what she does, the kids with whom she works providing her perpetual joy and satisfaction.
“All the kids are literally the sweetest, kindest humans on the planet. Every single day I get to school and someone will be like, ‘I love you,’ Then another will be like, ‘I love you, too—what about me?’ Their kindness just shines. My kids are so happy to be at school, and that in turn makes me happy to be at school,” she said.
Doyle’s role doesn’t come with endlessly easy school-days, however. For starters, she hosts students in any grade from kindergarten to fifth grade in her classrooms. The spots students are in academically vary from child to child, so that’s yet another difficult aspect of her job that she is tasked with handling accordingly: offering compassionate care to each and every straggler and scholar. Nevertheless, the way she advocates for everybody, no matter their standing, allows success to rise up everywhere.
“I am super big on giving everyone the individuality, opportunities, and materials that they need to be successful. I'm also big on my kids getting a lot of their social and interpersonal skills with their peers so my kids don't just spend all day with me. That gives them a sincere picture of life,” she said.
Doyle’s proven she’s incredibly talented at fostering a sense of unity among her kids due to her well-rounded comfortability with all. They will, for example, console her if ever she begins to cry every once in a while because of the stressors that constantly surround and overwhelm, and after their genuineness they manage to make her chuckle. Positivity is thus something she prioritizes and promotes.
Aside from her vocation, Doyle is an active person. She likes to work out at the gym, and she and her husband are major runners. They enjoy seeing new cities as they attend half-marathons and full marathons in numerous places they have not yet visited.
Whenever dullness may set in, she’s never slow to crack open a new novel. This year alone she’s so far finished 43 books, and she has a goal of reading 75 books this year. She recently started coaching junior varsity (JV) cheerleading at Valparaiso High School, a position she’s hoping to have that adds some fun to her day.
Having been to London twice within the past year, she’s by no means grounded in the Midwest. In the past, she’s lived in Thailand and India, but those are only two of the many countries all over the globe she has visited, so it might take some time for her to traverse the landscapes she has yet to visit. Each new place has its own energy, though, which is something she’s realized as she’s garnered more and more traveling experiences.
“I'm very big on energies and vibes. I'm just so grateful for all of them, regardless of what form they take. One thing I’ve learned, too, is that you will get in return the energy you put out. Existing to go with the flow is important to remaining calm in all situations the universe throws your way. It’ll make you more willing to embrace them,” she said.
Valpo is no new city to Doyle. It’s where so much of her growth has happened, and living there for as long as she has has opened up her eyes to all the new things that are regularly being added and established with the passage of time.
“I've grown up in the Region, and I love nature. I love the fact that we have lakes so close to us. I also love Valpo because I am vegan, and the city has a ton of vegan-accessible restaurants that accommodate different dietary restrictions,” she said.