Pilot Mound woman fuelled by ambition

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This article was published 24/06/2021 (1744 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Driven to success and intent on making a difference in public policy, Avery McLean is on an ambitious path.

“I’ve always had these strong female characters around me, so I know I can do what I want to do because they were able to achieve what they want,” she said.

“I had that support system to know anything I wanted to accomplish was possible.”

Her grandmother, Shirley Richards, was a nurse whose sister, Louise Johnson, was a teacher. McLean’s mother, Mylia Richards, is a veterinarian.

The 22-year-old from Pilot Mound recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a minor in political science from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Her story prompted the university to issue a media notice regarding a student news director Angie Faller referred to as “one of our top graduates.”

McLean was on a full-ride academic scholarship throughout her four years of study, and has already shifted to Penn State University, where her law school studies are covered by a 90 per cent scholarship.

In addition to strong, female role models, McLean credits her involvement in competitive swimming with setting her on the right path.

“When I was younger, what really appealed to me was that I found my people in club swimming,” she said, which included a time with the Brandon Bluefins Swim Club.

“The older I got, it was the values I learned from it — time-management skills. It’s crazy-ridiculous the amount of things I can fit in a day, and I learned that through swimming.”

In order to make early-morning swim practices, she enrolled in the Institut Collegial Vincent Massey Collegiate in Winnipeg at age 15, staying with a host family during the week and heading back home to Pilot Mound most weekends.

From there, she was recruited as a swimmer for University of Arkansas at Little Rock as a prestigious Donaghey Scholar, which covered not only tuition and some other expenses, but a summer 2019 study in Switzerland.

She could have sought a position at a Canadian university, but figured she’d use it as an opportunity to broaden her worldview.

“I’m very into learning from every experience I’m in, and I know that if I could get somewhere else and experience maybe even a slightly different way of life, it would help make me into a more complete global citizen and someone who can look at issues from a variety of perspectives, and that’s something I really value,” she said.

This directive followed her to Switzerland, where she studied the World Health Organization’s glyphosate research (Monsanto’s Roundup), and to Penn State University, where she is studying environmental law.

Her end goal has changed along the way, but her underlying motivation to make a positive difference in the world has remained constant.

“To be a part of the conversation would mean a lot, and I believe we need a lot more people to have global perspectives and more diverse perspectives, particularly in those decision spots,” she said.

On this front, she credits Penn State with allowing her to study a broad range of topics, and not just one narrow field of focus.

Her advice to other young ambitious young people is to keep their eyes open to opportunities and diversify their education as much as possible.

“Always be willing to consider the other side of an argument and to practise an interdisciplinary life,” she said, adding this tends to open up more doors.

“It really allows you to really get to where you’re meant to be in life, whether that’s where you originally thought you’d be or not.”

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB