Megan Stropus

[Image Description]: Megan takes a selfie of her and her service dog, a poodle named Noodle. Megan is a woman with straight, light brown hair and is wearing a black shirt. Noodle is a white poodle.

[Image Description]: Megan smiles in a selfie, wearing a black t-shirt covered by her long brown hair.

[Image Description]: Noodle wears a service dog harness and leash, smiling proudly with their front paws up on a grassy ledge. Noodle is a large, white poodle with poofy ears.

I am a service dog handler who uses my disabilities to fuel my passions and research in science.

Tell us about your STEM? What do you do, what do you love about it, what brought you to the field?

I'm currently an undergraduate student at Loyola University Chicago. I’m an older student, I'm 27. I started college at 18 part time at my local junior college and I navigated the world of becoming sick and disabled and trying to find my identity during that period. I’m very appreciative of where I’m at now, and how much I take away from completing my education in my late 20s. I love it. 

I’m currently majoring in biology and minoring in bioethics with goals to pursue a PhD somewhere under the biomedical research umbrella. I haven't quite narrowed down the field yet, but during the final 2 years of my bachelors I'll have the ability to really dabble in a lot of things and figure out where I truly want this to take me. I'm just excited about everything, and I’ve got time to figure it out. I’ll most likely be looking into doing some post bachelor programs, for example the NIH does preparatory programs, and I hope to get further experience in the academic research process. 

I like to find other people who are excited about the nitty gritty courses. People tend to think I’m a nerd, but I don't care. I love it. And I love finding my people, people who understand it. I have EDS, which is a genetic disorder - the first time I saw collagen under the microscope, I had this moment of ‘that’s it!’. That’s the root of dozens of co-morbid issues that make my life so hard. And I’m looking at it on a slide, and it’s got this beautiful pink stain and it’s so pretty. Ever since then I’ve decided I was going to follow that feeling, that moment. I get so excited for what the future has to hold. I have every semester planned out, I'm that type of person, and I’m very excited to be taking a histology course in one of my final semesters.

What accommodations allow you to thrive?

I have a good laundry list of accommodations, and I have a really great primary care physician who has done a lot of paperwork and documentation with me. We think of what the worst-case scenario is for each of my conditions. What sorts of things do I need to be successful on a day where everything is imploding? That way I have accommodations in place which I might need for the future, or I might need one week but not the next. That gives me the flexibility and autonomy to utilize the accommodations when I need them. 

I always have a discussion with my professors before I start the semester, just to let them know. It might seem intimidating to them to see all the things on my accommodation sheet, so I explain that I’ll let them know when I need x, y, or z. I’ve found it to be very beneficial to have as open conversations with your professors as you’re willing to. I’m an open book about my life and my health, but I understand that a lot of people are more private with their health issues and disabilities. That needs to be respected too. Even if you don't disclose, have open conversations with your professors regarding your accommodations, and communicate that things might change. Meeting them halfway really tends to go far, and I’ve noticed that you’re seen as more of a person than just a student, or than a list of accommodations that they have to work around.

What do you want people to know about being disabled in STEM? 

It's very important to realize that we are not ‘less than’. Less than whatever adjective you can find. We work just as hard, we’re just as intelligent. We’re just as capable. We might have to do things in a different manner than the general population. I think, if anything, what an able-bodied person might see as a disadvantage to us, actually gives us a way to innovate. Me being sick is what motivates me. This is what makes me want to be in STEM. And that is a drive and a passion that you can’t replicate. 

I also wish the general public could realize how much work it takes for us to be on par with them: the amount of time and energy that goes into it (the disabled tax!). We put so much energy into being able to do what we want to do, and to be on the same footing with them. They might think we don’t work as hard, or we’re not as smart, but we’re busting our asses to be in the same spot that they just walked into. They will of course have their own tribulations and struggles, but we fight every single day. We really do. I wish people just gave more grace to others.

I had a physics professor. When I presented my accommodations, the documentation and paperwork, and reviewed the syllabus and policies to see how they could be adjusted, he told me ‘the person comes first’. You are a human first, and we’re going to treat you as one. I wish I could have given him a hug. He looked past my disabilities and all the extra work he might have to do to accommodate me. He pointed out that, in a class of 50 students, every one of them is having some sort of issue. Everyone has a battle. Not everyone shares that with their profs or has documentation, but he treats everyone that way. That’s something I always try to remember. 

When you're in a minority group, and you look at the majority, it’s easy to feel angry towards them, even jealous. But we all have issues, we all have battles, and we all have a story. Maybe it’s different from what I’m experiencing, but it’s just as real and as valid to them. 

What advice would you give to someone with a disability looking to enter the STEM world?

In STEM, I cannot ever stress enough how important self advocacy is. And that goes for any minority group where you might be up against a fight or a battle - educate yourself! Know your rights! Know that you are allowed in these spaces! And these spaces need to have open arms to welcome you, and if they don’t, that needs to be changed. Maybe you yourself aren’t in a position to do that, or be the change maker, but you might find someone else who is taking on that fight. There are people who are putting in the work to make our lives easier, and who are pushing down barriers for the next people. 

We've made amazing strides in being disabled in STEM (and just being disabled in general) over the last few decades. I’m very eager to see where it goes from here, and how things will keep improving. We’re in a place where there’s more conversation about it, and more resources available, but you need to be on top of things. You need to initiate those conversations. You need to know your legal rights in a workplace or academia, and not be afraid to push for things. You deserve them! You’re worth it, be knowledgeable in yourself and what you can bring. 

When I first entered academia, I was passive. I didn't get accommodations when I could have had them, because I didn’t initiate them. I didn’t look to see what was out there, I didn’t think I was sick enough to need them. Having accommodations would probably have cut two years off my time in school, so that’s really something that I try to push people on. 

I do still sometimes have to explain to fellow students in some of my classes that my time-and-a-half exam time doesn't give me an advantage. Half my time I’m standing up and taking breaks because my body hurts. We end up having the same amount of time to work. 

I also went into looking at schools knowing that I'm disabled, knowing I need accommodations, seeing how well other disabled students liked their time there. That was a big factor in me when picking out schools. Being in the Chicago area, I'm very lucky. I have a lot of very qualified schools I get to pick from that I want to do research at. And so I kind of got to be a little bit pickier there, which I'm thankful for. So I personally haven’t run into issues. But I know that just because I haven’t that doesn’t mean other people haven’t, but overall I’ve been very happy. 

I also know that I put in that work to make sure things get done. I'm proactive. I made sure I had all my ducks in a row. If I hadn’t done that, maybe things might be different, but I can only speak from my own experience.

Tell us about having a service dog in STEM.

I actually was a puppy raiser for a service dog organization, and I worked with a dog from when it was a year and a half to 2 and a half years old. He came in with me full time when I was at my junior college and we were in labs and doing classes. And so that was interesting, because that was not something that institution was experienced with, especially in STEM courses. Going into a lab is a lot more nuanced than going into a classroom. A lot of that kind of ended up just being up to my professor's discretion, and I luckily had great professors. For example, my cadaver lab was attached to another room. The dog didn’t come into the cadaver lab with me, but we would put him in a downstay under the lab bench in the other room, and I would go back and forth to check on him. Everything there worked out fine, and everyone was accommodating and willing to work with me. 

With my own service dog Noodle, he’s not yet experienced working in STEM. He’ll be starting with me this coming fall semester, and I’m very eager, but a bit apprehensive moving forward as he enters full time work. I’ve heard of a lot of people having struggles being accommodated, but I’ll continue to advocate for myself, and know my rights and what options exist. 

Being mindful of Noodle’s safety, I’ve been thinking about my organic chem lab coming up next spring. From speaking with other students, TAs, and professors, I most likely won’t be bringing him with me, just because of the corrosive and abrasive chemicals everywhere. I myself have broken glass in labs before. I’m instead thinking about what other accommodations I can have to be safe during that three hour period that I can utilize so as to not put my service dog at risk. Luckily I’m not going into a chemistry major, so that won’t be a long term concern. But for service dogs that do go into labs, no judgment whatsoever, do what’s best for you and your team! I trust you to know that implicitly.

How did you find the STEM With Disabilities project?

I was at the point where I was thinking, what's the point of even going back to school? Something else is just going to happen. I was hitting that point of burnout and exhaustion, and being away from that setting makes it harder to think about re-entering it. And then I found this website and read through it, and a light turned on. This is why I want to do what I do. This is why I love what I’m doing, and why I embrace my disabilities. They gave me this love and this drive, and I was forgetting what that felt like. 

It’s been really reassuring to see people being interviewed who are steps ahead of me in their education. Seeing the professors that have been interviewed, that hit me hard. Not only did they do this educational journey, but they’re now in the system, and that’s good. They also have their struggles, but they’re fighting it from their end. That makes me very hopeful. There isn’t as much conversation about disabilities at the graduate level. It’s reassuring to see people at this level, and to ask questions and see their success stories. There's so much lack of conversation and lack of clarity of how things work. I want to know everything about all of it when I walk in, so I can advocate for myself. 

I've had 7 months of laying in bed doing nothing, and I’m already looking ahead - what cell bio text are we using? I might as well start doing some light reading while I’m doing my post op recovery. My brain has been itching for something to do.