News
My Music Became The Fuel For Higher Education
June 15, 2021
Meg Gunia is a newly acclaimed Integrative Studies student at GVSU Traverse City Regional Center with a deeply rooted passion for music that has propelled her through her educational journey from a learning and financial perspective.
For Meg, the love for music, song writing, and performing began at the early age of 10. Her older brother wanted to take guitar lessons so Meg thought she would join. She has not put her guitar down since.
Meg learned four cords at the age of 11 and wrote her first song to her mom about her grandma passing away. Her heartfelt song moved her friends and family so much that she was encouraged to continue writing. At 17 years old Meg started recording and by the time she was 19 she went with her family to Nashville for her first professional recording session.
The sound quality was not what they were looking for, so they sought out another recording studio and came across Pete Mathews in Memphis. After driving 10 hours they came up to what looked like a rundown garage but nonetheless the address was right. With disappointment on their mind, they walked in and to their surprise the studio was exactly what Meg was looking for. High quality equipment and Pete had a real knack as a producer. Meg recorded 9 songs and eventually 2 music videos but was still too shy to perform in person.
After a recording session Meg and her brother were out to eat at a pizza joint and struck up a conversation with what was then a kind stranger, Mark Hansen. As Meg described him, “another stumbled upon angel to push me in the right direction and now he’s like family.” Mark was a musician himself and invited her to join him as a guest appearance at a winery he was playing at. He was that push she needed to move past performance fears to get out there and start performing and booking gigs.
This summer she is booked almost every weekend, and this helps fuel and pay her way through her educational journey. Meg was recording her music up until high school graduation. While many students were preparing for college, Meg was not thrilled about the idea of leaving home. Her mom encouraged her to continue music but also attend West Shore Community College to get her associates. Meg is grateful for that push. Meg stated, “I am happy that she did push me because it advanced me as a person in general.” She completed her Associates of Science in 2017.
Meg was still undecided on next steps after her associates. She tried out online courses at Ferris then, through her brother, found out that GVSU had a Traverse City location with several bachelor’s degree options. Meg shared, “it was closer to home and more in line with what I wanted, which was to stay at home with family.” She drove to Traverse City, did a self-tour of campus, and walked into the Regional Center.
After talking to a couple universities Meg walked into the GVSU office and was greeted by a friendly, helpful staff. She was able to meet with Jackie Abeyta right away to talk about the PA Program GVSU offered and the steps needed to get there. Meg knew this was the university for her. Meg stated, “Jackie was an angel and made everything so easy to transition. She is amazing to work with.”
Meg started the Allied Health Science Bachelor’s Degree with a goal of the PA Master's program at GVSU. After about a year of courses Meg had a self-discovering meeting with her advisor, Jackie Abeyta to realize that she was not enjoying the science side of things and truly was more art and music inclined. Jackie was a great sounding board and understood that Meg did not want to lose all her credit hours. She helped outline a degree as an integrative studies student with the option to still explore other career interests such as journalism, counseling, and law without losing credit hours she worked so hard for.
Meg is starting her first classes as an Integrative Studies student this summer while still allowing her music to pay for and pave her way through her higher education. Check out some of Meg’s music videos: Purple Clouds and Look into Your Eyes or visit her Spotify channel to hear more incredible songs. Follow Meg and see where she is playing next on her Official Facebook Page.
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