Indiana University Athletics
Catching Up With IUFH Alumni: Meghan Larkin
5/29/2020 10:41:00 AM | Field Hockey
What have you been up to since playing?
Since graduating in 2010...
I had one year off between grad school. That year, I spent some time in my hometown of St. Louis, then I moved to Houston, TX. In Texas I was a PE teacher at a Montessori school, I coached Futures programs in Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth and I ran a club field hockey program in Houston.
Then I went to grad school and received my Masters in Physician Assistant Studies in Phoenix, AZ.
After PA school I worked in Pensacola, Florida in urology while my (then) fiancé finished his commitment to the Air Force at Hurlburt Field.
Then we got married and set our roots in Lawrence, Kansas (home of the Kansas Jayhawks).
I landed my dream job in the field of Organ Transplantation. I have been a Physician Assistant at Saint Luke's Hospital in Kansas City doing Liver and Kidney Transplant for six years. Not a day goes by that I don't appreciate donors, donor families, the gift of life, our surgical techniques and the advancements in medicine.
We are celebrating our 5-year wedding anniversary this week, and we are welcoming our 3rd child to the world this coming September.
My teammates are still my best friends and we travel to see each other every year.
Where are you at right now?
I work in Kansas City and I live in Lawrence, Kansas with my husband and 2 daughters, Kate and Emily, and 1 child on the way.
What gives you encouragement and motivation during this time?
Seeing the world through the eyes of my daughters.
What is something you and your family are doing to pass the time?
Since we both work in healthcare our jobs didn't really stop. But on the weekends, we kept to the simple life and did campouts in our backyard, lots of family walks and picnics, cooked more than normal, and completed some much-needed yard work.
What shows are you catching up on?
I have been enjoying Netflix documentaries, any and all shows on HGTV, and Billions. I am looking forward to Yellowstone season 3 starting back up.
What advice do you give to your fellow Hoosiers during this time?
We live right next to KU campus, so being in a college town really brings me back down memory lane. I would have been devastated missing any time at IU. My heart breaks for the students who did not get to come back to campus for the Spring. I was sad for the seniors missing graduation. I was sad for the Spring sports teams, and missing March Madness was horrible! But then I was also sad for people who had to file for unemployment. I was sad for the business owners. I was sad for everyone isolated in senior living homes. I was sad for people withdrawing care in my hospital alone. Whatever season of life you are in during these unprecedented times, it is uncomfortable for everyone. So, I hope you find a way to see something positive. Know we are all in it together. Change is uncomfortable, but it can be for the better.
One lesson being an Indiana Field Hockey student-athlete taught you?
RESPONSIBILITY. Being a student athlete was a job. There were high expectations on and off the field if you wanted to represent the Indiana Athletic Department.
Favorite memory from being part of the Indiana Field Hockey team?
1) Watching my sister Kate and her IUFH team advance to NCAA elite eight in 2005 when I was being recruited, and then being part of the NCAA sweet sixteen team myself in 2009.
2) The inter-team competitions we did during preseason: challenges, camping, cookout at Lake Monroe
3) Living in Foster Harper with all my classmates
Favorite and least favorite drill that you would have to do in practice?
Favorite drill: continuous 3v2 and 2v1, and knock out
Least favorite drill: pull-ups and hang cleans
One thing your current self would tell your student-athlete self?
From the mom in me I would say to my younger self, "stop complaining about being tired and waking up early. Someday you'll have a newborn to keep alive. You won't have time to nap or workout. It's a privilege and so easy to complain in the moment."
From the Transplant PA in me I would say, "While you're in college, you are supposed to be a little selfish and focused on self-improvement, but don't take it too far to the level of being self-absorbed in your own problems, it is so important to maintain perspective: so many people die too young every day, make the most of your life".
A lesson that being an IU field hockey player taught you
WORK ETHIC. Go to practice early, wake up early, do the extra runs, spend summers training, go to study tables, utilize the tutors, interact with the other athletes, compete for the best grades, compete for the championships. Make sure your teammates are doing the same and be proud of them. We all want to be the best Hoosiers possible.
Part you miss most?
1) Playing on the field with my sister Kate.
2) Having my parents (and all the other girls' parents that became family) on the sidelines at every game.
3) Picking up our uniforms (and cookies) from Rusty/ Colby in Assembly Hall for game day or weekend trips.
A piece of advice for current players?
Being a student athlete is the best job in the world: getting an education, traveling the country to other campuses, being housed in nice hotels, eating like royalty, all while getting to play the game you love the most and being with your best friends. PINCH yourself because it is better than any dream. Appreciate what was given to you and always give back in any way you can. In the moment ENJOY and give more than you know you have in you. And always remember, your job as a student athlete is to be the BEST you can for IU, on the field and in the classroom. You only get one chance to do it!!
Since graduating in 2010...
I had one year off between grad school. That year, I spent some time in my hometown of St. Louis, then I moved to Houston, TX. In Texas I was a PE teacher at a Montessori school, I coached Futures programs in Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth and I ran a club field hockey program in Houston.
Then I went to grad school and received my Masters in Physician Assistant Studies in Phoenix, AZ.
After PA school I worked in Pensacola, Florida in urology while my (then) fiancé finished his commitment to the Air Force at Hurlburt Field.
Then we got married and set our roots in Lawrence, Kansas (home of the Kansas Jayhawks).
I landed my dream job in the field of Organ Transplantation. I have been a Physician Assistant at Saint Luke's Hospital in Kansas City doing Liver and Kidney Transplant for six years. Not a day goes by that I don't appreciate donors, donor families, the gift of life, our surgical techniques and the advancements in medicine.
We are celebrating our 5-year wedding anniversary this week, and we are welcoming our 3rd child to the world this coming September.
My teammates are still my best friends and we travel to see each other every year.
Where are you at right now?
I work in Kansas City and I live in Lawrence, Kansas with my husband and 2 daughters, Kate and Emily, and 1 child on the way.
What gives you encouragement and motivation during this time?
Seeing the world through the eyes of my daughters.
What is something you and your family are doing to pass the time?
Since we both work in healthcare our jobs didn't really stop. But on the weekends, we kept to the simple life and did campouts in our backyard, lots of family walks and picnics, cooked more than normal, and completed some much-needed yard work.
What shows are you catching up on?
I have been enjoying Netflix documentaries, any and all shows on HGTV, and Billions. I am looking forward to Yellowstone season 3 starting back up.
What advice do you give to your fellow Hoosiers during this time?
We live right next to KU campus, so being in a college town really brings me back down memory lane. I would have been devastated missing any time at IU. My heart breaks for the students who did not get to come back to campus for the Spring. I was sad for the seniors missing graduation. I was sad for the Spring sports teams, and missing March Madness was horrible! But then I was also sad for people who had to file for unemployment. I was sad for the business owners. I was sad for everyone isolated in senior living homes. I was sad for people withdrawing care in my hospital alone. Whatever season of life you are in during these unprecedented times, it is uncomfortable for everyone. So, I hope you find a way to see something positive. Know we are all in it together. Change is uncomfortable, but it can be for the better.
One lesson being an Indiana Field Hockey student-athlete taught you?
RESPONSIBILITY. Being a student athlete was a job. There were high expectations on and off the field if you wanted to represent the Indiana Athletic Department.
Favorite memory from being part of the Indiana Field Hockey team?
1) Watching my sister Kate and her IUFH team advance to NCAA elite eight in 2005 when I was being recruited, and then being part of the NCAA sweet sixteen team myself in 2009.
2) The inter-team competitions we did during preseason: challenges, camping, cookout at Lake Monroe
3) Living in Foster Harper with all my classmates
Favorite and least favorite drill that you would have to do in practice?
Favorite drill: continuous 3v2 and 2v1, and knock out
Least favorite drill: pull-ups and hang cleans
One thing your current self would tell your student-athlete self?
From the mom in me I would say to my younger self, "stop complaining about being tired and waking up early. Someday you'll have a newborn to keep alive. You won't have time to nap or workout. It's a privilege and so easy to complain in the moment."
From the Transplant PA in me I would say, "While you're in college, you are supposed to be a little selfish and focused on self-improvement, but don't take it too far to the level of being self-absorbed in your own problems, it is so important to maintain perspective: so many people die too young every day, make the most of your life".
A lesson that being an IU field hockey player taught you
WORK ETHIC. Go to practice early, wake up early, do the extra runs, spend summers training, go to study tables, utilize the tutors, interact with the other athletes, compete for the best grades, compete for the championships. Make sure your teammates are doing the same and be proud of them. We all want to be the best Hoosiers possible.
Part you miss most?
1) Playing on the field with my sister Kate.
2) Having my parents (and all the other girls' parents that became family) on the sidelines at every game.
3) Picking up our uniforms (and cookies) from Rusty/ Colby in Assembly Hall for game day or weekend trips.
A piece of advice for current players?
Being a student athlete is the best job in the world: getting an education, traveling the country to other campuses, being housed in nice hotels, eating like royalty, all while getting to play the game you love the most and being with your best friends. PINCH yourself because it is better than any dream. Appreciate what was given to you and always give back in any way you can. In the moment ENJOY and give more than you know you have in you. And always remember, your job as a student athlete is to be the BEST you can for IU, on the field and in the classroom. You only get one chance to do it!!
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