Maegan Garlock didn't plan to go to Aquinas College. She had committed to Grand Valley State University for physical therapy when life shifted course: she was pregnant, her father worked on the AQ maintenance crew, and the small campus on Robinson Road suddenly made more sense than anywhere else. Aquinas College provides a supportive community that meets you where you are to accomplish and fulfill your goals.

"I pivoted because of life situations and attended Aquinas," she says. "And I'm glad I did. That ended up turning out to be a better fit for me in the long run."

What looked like a detour turned out to be the beginning of a remarkable academic journey. Maegan would earn three degrees from Aquinas over nearly two decades, each time following her curiosity to deepen her lifelong learning.

Maegan (Malone) Garlock earned a B.A. in Athletic Training and Community Recreation (2002), a B.A. in Learning Disabilities with a Reading minor (2011), and a Master of Management with a Healthcare Administration focus (2017) from Aquinas College.

Finding Her Footing: Athletic Training and a Spark to a New Direction
Her first journey (1998-2002) took her into athletic training, where she found a hands-on connection to functional movement and human performance. She worked with AQ soccer and softball teams and discovered a passion for them. But it was a senior-year position as an assistant athletic trainer at East Kentwood High School that quietly opened the next door. Working alongside students in a school setting, she began noticing those who struggled to learn, and she started asking why.

"It was kind of like recognizing within yourself and growing and maturing," she says, "where your strengths are and where your interests actually are."

That recognition would bring her back to campus.

Mentorship from professor Nanette Clatterbuck, an education professor, drew her into the learning disabilities program and a second bachelor's degree. Balancing coursework with work and motherhood was no small feat, but Aquinas met her where she was. Professors accommodated her reality without making her feel like an exception.

"I had professors who let me bring my babies to class with me," she says. "That made it work. I could do it then."

The fit felt right in more ways than one. "I realized that learning disabilities and reading specifically spoke to me. It all aligned with where my life was at that point." By the time she returned a third time for a Master of Management with a healthcare administration focus in 2017, the pattern was clear: Maegan didn't collect degrees so much as flourished in the pillars of Aquinas' study and community.

The Work That Connects It All
Today, Maegan is Director of Lifestyle and Wellness at Porter Hills Village, part of Brio Living Services in Grand Rapids, where she oversees fitness, chaplaincy, music therapy, and holistic wellness programming across independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, and memory care communities. The connection to her Aquinas College education is unmistakable. Her background in learning disabilities sharpened her attentiveness to language and perception, which now shapes everything about how she approaches her work.

"The language that we use impacts our perceptions of our own abilities, someone else's abilities, and our understanding of each other." For Maegan, that means pushing her organization toward a strength-based, human-centered model of care, one focused on maintaining the "human spirit" of every resident. She has been with Brio for 20 years and plans to keep doing what she loves for as long as she can.

That same commitment to people extends well beyond her job description. As a former chair of the Lowell Community Wellness Board, Maegan helped launch the Pink Arrow Project, a community fundraiser that started with a goal of $5,000 and has since raised millions for cancer patients and local programs. "We thought we'd raise $5,000, and now it's millions," she says. 

"But more importantly, it pulled the community together." She has also co-chaired Kent County Indivisible, working on coalition building and community-led advocacy. Whether inside Porter Hills or across West Michigan, the roots of lifelong learning and community stand strong.

"We're all connected. And I truly believe that." It is a conviction rooted, like so much else in her life, in her years at Aquinas.

Reflecting: The Small Things That Last
Not just the coursework or the credentials, but the people and community are what shaped who she is today. She remembers professors who let her bring her children to class. She remembers life advice from a staff member about self-worth, which in turn helped her build and maintain stronger relationships. She remembers Sister Aquinas Weber O.P., “clipped out that newspaper, a photo of me, and came and tracked me down to show it to me. It’s those little things you wouldn’t get at another school.”

For students weighing their options, Maegan's advice is less about rankings and more about roots: choose a college where they can build real relationships that anchor them through life’s challenges and transitions.

“I think it's interesting how you go to college and you realize, oh no, these are actually the friends I have for life.” Aquinas was that place for Maegan. She was not lost when she decided to return home; she simply recognized that Aquinas was an excellent place to ground herself before beginning a new stage in her life.