Profile: The Story of a Student Entrepreneur

Megan Glenn is the founder of her own environmentally sustainable business and has volunteered almost 700 hours in her lifetime. She is participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award which recognizes youth self-development and leadership. It appears, Glenn is just getting started.

She was invited as a guest speaker for this year’s Carleton Serves event on September 24^th, in which she spoke about her experiences in and out of school, working with her business, Good Vibes, and her various volunteer adventures. Her stories emphasized a positive and motivating message about the importance of student engagement which she sees as the practice of learning outside the classroom

Background, Good Vibes and Volunteering

Glenn grew up out in the countryside of Kemptiville and Merrickville, Ontario. In high school, she was awarded the Governor Generals Award for Volunteerism for contributing over 600 hours of community service. She attended Dalhousie University in Halifax for three years, and then moved to Ottawa for a semester at Carleton University.

After taking time off school, Megan decided to focus on her passion for volunteer work. During that time, she had been participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award which recognizes young people who are learning outside a ‘formal’ education, through a chosen skill. Glenn picked sewing.

“I absolutely love volunteering! It makes me feel connected to the local community.” – Glenn

She decided to sell some of the pieces she made, kick-starting the idea for her business, Good Vibes. The project combines her love for environmental sustainability, sewing, and community service. Her goal was to support her local community and make a positive impact by selling handmade items from recycled materials. In turn for every item sold, Glenn would volunteer for an organization in the community for a certain number of hours.

“I know that I am very fortunate to have my family, my home, and my community. I want to share the experiences I have been fortunate enough to have, with other people, in any way that I can.” – Glenn

 “Nowadays, no one has time to put that much work into something that they could buy for super cheap.” – Glenn 

Through Good Vibes, Glenn has been given many different opportunities to share her experiences doing volunteer work. She sees events like Carleton Serves as a great platform to keep people informed about local initiatives and get people thinking about the benefit of participation, as well as connect with other like-minded individuals. She also thinks that it’s important for students to know about initiatives similar to her project because she believes that thinking creatively can lead to discovering a completely new and unique way of helping the world.

“At any activity like Carleton Serves, I always hope to learn from people. Every single person has something that they can teach you, whether they’re young or old.” – Glenn

Glenn hopes to continue Good Vibes in order to keep sharing her story and promote the benefits of a sustainable lifestyle, as she believes that by sharing her stories, she can create an inspiring and positive impact. As for other future goals, she aims to complete her gold level of the Duke of Edinburgh Award in April and become an award leader in her community. She also plans to open up an Etsy shop in October for Good Vibes.

Learn more about Glenn and Good Vibes on her website: http://www.goodvibescrafts.ca