BRIONA SAAS
Special to The Leader
The freshmen at Fredonia are not as well known as other students. They haven’t been here for very long and haven’t met everyone yet; however, despite their age, one can still learn from them.
Shane Meenaghan is from Buffalo, N.Y.; he is an 18-year-old freshman at Fredonia who has a passion for teaching. We can learn a lot from Meenaghan, as he is a very welcoming person who greets everyone with a smile. He came to Fredonia because the school has his dual major — early childhood and childhood education with a concentration in biology. His favorite class he’s taking right now is his education class; it has a field placement, which allows him some hands on experience with his major.
Meenaghan is motivated by helping other people, which is why he is so passionate about his major. He wants to see more kindness in the world because he believes it’s such a simple thing to change.
“There’s always room to improve,” Meenaghan said.
He hates to see people suffering, especially if he feels like he can’t help them. Meenaghan remains positive and enjoys the little things in life. Meenaghan is a good listener and is always there for his friends, who describe him as organized, funny, laid back and a self-motivator.
Meenaghan is very wise. One of his best pieces of advice to give is, “Something that you think is so important today won’t matter tomorrow.” Meenaghan has learned a lot through personal experience, and was influenced by a lot of people throughout his life. His parents are very hardworking and have taught him how to live, and not live, life.
Meenaghan learned many values, including the appreciation of family, from his grandma. His best friends, mother and stepfather have taught him how to enjoy life and understand that there is time for work, but there is also time for play and to live in the moment.
Meenaghan’s art teacher from high school taught him there is always room to give back to people. The best advice was given to him on a stressful day by his best friend’s mom. She explained that her late husband worked hard and enjoyed very little; he made money, but it didn’t make up for the life he lost because of working so hard. This taught Meenaghan to spend more time enjoying family and doing things — not to stress about money. Meenaghan learned to enjoy life this way and understands now that time is more valuable than anything; give someone your time rather than money, he said in a recent interview.
Meenaghan enjoys life by doing the things he loves with people he loves. Meenaghan loves adventure; his favorite memory was taking a boat to an island in Mexico on Thanksgiving — he and his family hiked to and swam in a waterfall in the jungle the whole day. They spent the night laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Meenaghan enjoys other exciting things, as well, like cliff jumping and climbing mountains with his family. When he’s left feeling bored, he finds himself going on walks outside or going on some kind of adventure.
Just like any student here, you can find Meenaghan hanging in the Williams Center with his friends; he hates the cold weather and snow like all of us, too.
What makes Meenaghan stand out from the rest of us is his passion and compassion to do good for others. The fact that he can spin a basketball on his finger is pretty cool, too.