Check out Megan's favorite music Web site at: www.jambase.com

See where Megan worked last summer at: www.glcpark.com

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Journalism student fulfilling lifelong dream

Megan Zehren

Megan Zehren discovered her love for critical writing by battling the insanity in her high school English class.

Her teacher, Mr. Jewett, approached her after reading her review of Susan Powter’s, "Stop the Insanity!" He told Zehren he enjoyed the critique and thought the rest of his English classes would want to hear it. Jewett convinced her to read it after school to an audience. 

"The class thought it was really funny, and my teacher said I was good at seeing both sides of the story," Zehren said. 

But Zehren knew she wanted to go into journalism for as long as she can remember. 

Her grandfather, John Eshelman, former managing editor of the Elgin Daily Courier News in Elgin, Ill., sparked her interest in writing and journalism at an early age and inspired her with his own passion for journalism. Eshelman discovered his passion while struggling to make ends meet supporting his wife and seven children. 

She and her grandfather have always been close, Zehren said. 

"He really pushed for me to be successful in school and to go to college to pursue journalism," she said. 

As early as kindergarten, Zehren studied in an advanced reading group at Pier Elementary School in Fond du Lac. Throughout her elementary school years, she participated in the "Right to Read" program. 

"It was basically a book club for little kids," she said. 

In seventh grade at Thiesen Junior High School, Zehren began preparing for journalism studies in college. She wrote for her junior high school newspaper, Tiger Tales, and eventually became editor. 

"Throughout my junior high school career, my teachers knew I had a passion for writing. I was an A-plus student in all my English classes," Zehren said. 

Zehren’s budding journalism career continued at L.P. Goodrich High School in Fond du Lac, where she became editor of her school newspaper, The Free Press. She served as editor of the bi-quarterly paper during her junior and senior years. 

Zehren immersed herself in all aspects of the school newspaper, taking on much of the work herself including all the editing, production and graphic design. 

“I would actually take the paper to the press myself," she said. 

Her hard work earned her honors in the school’s annual ceremony. Zehren is the 1997 inductee into the Cardinal Hall of Fame for exceptional effort in journalism out of her class of 600 students. 

During her sophomore year at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Zehren became enraged after reading an article smearing the band Phish in The Spectator. Her ensuing letter to the editor netted her a job offer to review music. 

"I only did a couple of reviews," Zehren said. "But eventually that’s what I want to do. I want to be a music critic really bad." 

In addition to writing, Zehren enjoys many outdoor activities such as camping and hiking. She spent last summer in Montana working as a waitress for a resort in Glacier National Park. 

"I worked more than 40 hours a week, then I crammed in all the hiking I could possibly manage on the weekends," she said. 

In her free time, Zehren enjoys attending concerts. She became a fan of some British rock bands like Radiohead, Stereophonics and Oasis while studying abroad in England. 

She also likes electronic music and is currently learning to spin records on her friend’s turntables. By sampling sounds from different records while simultaneously controlling the sound’s tempo and pitch, Zehren can create her own electronic music. 

"I’ve always been interested in how you can apply technology into making music," she said. "Learning this method only makes me appreciate music more."