This article is part of a series focusing on the grads of the 蜜桃传媒 Class of 2025. Spring Convocation takes place May 30 and from June 9-19 in Halifax and Truro. Read all our profiles聽here in one place聽as they are published.
Upon entering university, some students know exactly what they want and are laser-focused on achieving their goals. For others, the journey is more important than the destination.
Meg Langlais, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in Indigenous Studies, represents a mix of both archetypes. Her university experience has not gone exactly as planned, but through it all, she has grown personally and professionally thanks in large part to new perspectives gained through co-operative education and experiential learning.
Looking for the right path
Aspirations of studying marine biology brought Meg from the small town of Dryden, Ontario 鈥� located halfway between Thunder Bay and Winnipeg, Manitoba 鈥� to Dal. The transition wasn鈥檛 easy, though 鈥� her first year was fully online due to the pandemic and she admits to struggling with her mental health throughout university. 鈥淚 really lost my sense of self for a long time,鈥� she says.
After having difficulties in her second-year biology courses, Meg began to feel that perhaps her strengths were not in science. 鈥淚鈥檓 a very creative and emotional person, but I realized the 鈥榮cience brain鈥� doesn鈥檛 come naturally to me,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 very passionate about conservation, so I tried to fit into that box, but it just didn鈥檛 work for me. A big part of my time at Dal showed me that following the path that I thought was right wasn鈥檛 actually right for me.鈥�
I really lost my sense of self for a long time
Meg鈥檚 situation began to improve late in her second year, when enrolling in the science co-op program offered both new perspectives and changes of scenery. 鈥淐o-op gave me these experiences to learn more about who I was that I couldn鈥檛 get just being in the classroom,鈥� she says.聽
Her first placement, with , 鈥渦nlocked this whole new world,鈥� with bird and wildlife photography since becoming hobbies. (For visual evidence, follow on Instagram).
Meg, left, had an 鈥渁mazing experience鈥� as a marine research intern at the Cape Eleuthera Institute in the Bahamas.
In her second co-op, Meg, whose self-described mixed background includes Japanese and M茅tis heritage, learned more about the Indigenous side of science with in Truro. That experience complemented one of her favourite courses, Science Topics in Indigenous Studies (INDG 3005), which she recommends to students looking to gain an appreciation of non-Western perspectives in science.
Her final placement, at the Cape Eleuthera Institute in the Bahamas as part of Dal鈥檚 Queen Elizabeth Scholars (QES) program, was an 鈥渁mazing experience鈥� and the turning point for the rest of her undergraduate studies. 鈥淟iving on a small island for four months let me experience a strong sense of community, and being outside by the ocean every day was incredibly healing,鈥� she says. As a marine research intern, Meg even co-authored a research paper on the relationship between nurse sharks and remoras that was published in the in July 2024.
Back in the classroom, Meg sought experiential learning opportunities through SEASIDE Program courses Ornithology (BIOL 3622) and Species at Risk (BIOL/MARI 3635), which both included week-long field trips. 鈥淚 loved those experiences,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he longer field trips can really bring you closer with peers, while gaining real experience and connecting with nature.鈥�
Feeling like herself
As Meg prepares to cross the 蜜桃传媒 Arts Centre stage with her mother proudly watching on, she isn鈥檛 entirely sure of her future plans. For now, she is comfortable living in the moment, working for a local Indigenous housing association and nurturing her creative pursuits, photography and mizuhiki, a form of Japanese knot-tying art ( on Instagram).
Outside of the classroom, Meg has launched a side business selling arts and crafts made using mizuhiki, a form of Japanese knot-tying artwork.
鈥淚 think a lot of people in my position would be freaking out, but this is the calmest I鈥檝e ever been,鈥� she says.
鈥淓ven though I鈥檓 at a point where I don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 coming, I feel like I鈥檓 finally myself.鈥�