Meg Caron: UMaine 2025 Valedictorian 

Meg Caron of Bangor, Maine is the 2025 valedictorian. She is pursuing dual degrees in French and microbiology with a second science major in molecular and cellular biology. Alongside research, volunteer work, campus clubs and cooking competitions, she has been a member of the Field Hockey and Women’s Cross Country teams. Caron emphasizes the value of time, striving to spend every minute in the pursuit of happiness. 

Caron participated in science fairs as a middle school student and conducted research projects every year through the Bangor High School STEM Academy. Her intellectual curiosity and desire to contribute to society continued at the University of Maine, where she pursued research as a Maine Top Scholar. In her first year, she received a Center for Undergraduate Research summer fellowship for her project investigating how fungal peptides affect the virulence of C. albicans and presented it with the fluency and confidence of an upper-class student.

As a rising senior, Caron was a summer research fellow at the University of Michigan’s Moenter Lab, then returned during her senior year where she now works as a laboratory assistant. She is studying how stress induces suppression of the reproductive axis. In high school, stress in Caron’s life led her to developing an eating disorder that, as a result, suppressed her menstrual cycle. Over four years, limited treatment options for the condition encouraged her to pursue her own research. Not only did it fuel her passion for women’s health, but it also taught her that perfection doesn’t equal happiness. After graduation, she plans to write a book about her experiences and publish it in 2026 after hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Caron’s pursuit of science and language education has enabled her to touch others’ lives in a meaningful way. She studied abroad in Nimes, France to research co-infections with the support of a Pioneer Award from Phi Kappa Phi, of which she is now the undergraduate student representative on the national board of directors. Her research in Nimes, and later in Montreal through the Killam Fellowships Program, doubled as a linguistic and cultural immersion. Inspired by her family’s French Canadian heritage, becoming bilingual was a way for Caron to expand the scope of people with whom she can form relationships. It’s the French word “éphémère” that she’s realized life to be, thus she has devoted her time to impact others through research, communication and the contagion of joy.

In addition to hiking the Appalachian Trail and finalizing her book, Caron plans to apply to MD-Ph.D. programs after she graduates and specialize in women’s reproductive health as a physician and clinical researcher. 

A few of the words people used to describe you were “self-driven,” “ambitious,” “upbeat” and “joyful.” How did you maintain such a positive attitude while balancing a dual degree, double major, volunteer work, exercise, sports and research?

I’ve always been an innately joyful person and recognize the contagious nature of both smiling and laughter. It’s a part of my personality that, despite any amount of adversity, will never fade. In fact, that part of myself has only been intensified throughout my laborious experience at UMaine. Amidst mountains of work, injuries, family loss and stress, I have come to realize how valuable time is, how fleeting life can be in general, and how four years can pass by in the blink of an eye. If there’s one thing I’ve resolved to do with this revelation, it is to be cheerful and spread as much joy to others as possible. 

The reason for this is because — like anything I do in life — I strive to find purpose, to find what motivates me to achieve. Ultimately, if life is what we call “éphémère” in French, which means temporary or short-lived, then I see no point in spending such valuable time unhappy. I find no fulfillment in doing things for the “sake of doing them,” whether for money, a resume booster or otherwise. If it does not bring me or someone else happiness, then I don’t feel that I’m contributing to what I see as the purpose of life. 

If you’ve ever asked yourself why people pursue careers in what they’re passionate about, your answer would probably be: “Because that’s what makes them happy.” Similarly, people are good at what they do when they’re passionate about it, when they find joy in it, and that is when they have the biggest impact on the world. Not only do I recognize this, but I’ve experienced it. I’ve listened to my heart and determined what brings me the most happiness, then pursued my dreams, centrally motivated by bringing and feeling joy, regardless of logic or order. You may look at my experiences at UMaine and be confused by the pursuit of three majors, a degree in science and one in french, two different D1 sports, research, work with the University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, study abroad endeavors, cooking competitions, marathons, etc., and ask “Why?” The truth is: there was no master plan in any of the madness, except for living life to its fullest and in essence, chasing happiness.

What motivated you to pursue challenging research in your first year?

In high school, I had always conducted a yearly research project through the STEM Academy. It is worth mentioning that even in middle school I participated in science fairs. These projects made obvious the contribution that research has to society. Once I arrived at UMaine, it simply felt wrong not to exercise this potential, especially since I would be funded through the Maine Top Scholars program to do research. After putting so much time and energy into research prior to undergrad, I felt a calling to continue it. It had already awarded me lifelong skills, connections and a full tuition scholarship. I knew I enjoyed it — I enjoyed pushing myself in general — and I knew that without it, part of my identity felt like it was missing. 

Can you describe the moment when you knew you wanted to focus on women’s health issues?

There are some events that happen in a perfect storm to markedly change your life. For me, I was hit by a wave in the latter part of high school that caused me to turn inwards. The pain I felt transformed into motivation, but I was unsure why or what to be motivated about. I put the majority of my drive into self-improvement. I pushed myself to the max in every corner of my life and, as a consequence, developed an eating disorder. This is something that I am now unafraid to share with the world and unashamed to speak about to increase its awareness. It is the biggest mountain I’ve had to overcome in all my 21 years and underlies my career aspirations today. As a consequence of striving not for happiness, but for perfection, I lost my menstrual cycle in high school. I loved sports, but my health was very quickly compromised by these combining factors. I was stubborn, determined and relentless in my efforts but scared and unwilling to accept help. DEXA scans repeatedly revealed my weakening bones, but the only treatment option I was offered for my amenorrhea was hormonal replacement, which served as a band-aid fix for the hormones that my body itself couldn’t produce. 

That is when I started doing my own research into the causes of amenorrhea, the basic science behind it and why treatments are so limited. Needless to say, in every opportunity I was given, I sought to further my knowledge of the reproductive axis and place myself in a position to advocate for its importance. After years of growth, acceptance and perseverance, I have clarity in my life of what is most important — that matters most is on the inside, not the outside. I plan to use this attitude to serve other women across the world, particularly in addressing reproductive dysfunction at the source, rather than masking its effects. Not only do I plan to write and publish a book in the coming year about my experiences, but I forever plan to conduct research on women’s reproductive health that will help inform treatment options for the patients I have as a future M.D. 

What has it been like to live in Michigan and work in the Moenter Lab? How were you able to pursue that opportunity?

To live in Michigan and, more specifically, work in the Moenter Lab, has been nothing short of a joy. I seized this opportunity after having conducted a quick search on the National Institutes of Health Reporter during my junior year to find labs across the U.S. that were doing research in my area of interest. I looked at projects with the key words: “gonadotropin-releasing hormone,” “kisspeptin” and “amenorrhea” to find exactly what I was looking for. I read their abstracts, found the contacts for their principal investigators and reached out directly by email explaining myself and my motivations to research in such a lab. 

Suzanne Moenter at the University of Michigan was one of the first to get back to me. She read my story, met me on Zoom and saw me in my entirety. She didn’t hesitate to give me a chance in her lab that summer, where I received money through the University of Michigan Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship to conduct research. It was the best research experience of my life. I was so passionate, and consequently, learned so quickly. I walked away knowing this type of research was what I was meant to do. 

That is why when she reached out to me again later this year, inquiring if I could come back to work in her lab, I couldn’t get there fast enough. It was a two week turn around from Montreal to Maine to Michigan. The move was crazy, as was coordinating a virtual French capstone through UMaine in my last semester, but there was no doubt in my mind that it was my calling. Working here now is beyond incredible; I’m in a space where everyone shares the same immense passion for the work they do, and I feel as if I’m truly living out the phrase “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” 

Language and science studies are relatively on opposite ends of the spectrum. Which would you say you enjoy more? 

There are many ways to touch someone’s life, and I find both avenues to be great ways to achieve that. With that said, words have underestimated power. The French language has always intrigued me because of my family’s French Canadian heritage. Once I started speaking it, I realized it’s just all around beautiful, and being bilingual expanded the population of people I could communicate with as well as the relationships I could form. I wouldn’t trade that for the world. While I enjoy the hands-on aspects of research, the never ending pursuit of knowledge, the excitement of scientific discovery and its real-world applications, language studies cross a certain barrier of intimacy, one that more-so addresses identity. When you speak to someone in their native language (leur langue maternelle), they express an appreciation that is so touching, I swear my heart grows three times in size. When English is the world’s dominant language, there’s a certain beauty in going out of your way to understand and communicate with people of another mother tongue. My studies in science will address human health in ways that language can’t, but the same can be said of the way language touches individuals’ hearts across the world, which is not otherwise achieved in the lab. 

In other words, I cannot choose! I strive to be happy and bring happiness to the lives of people around me, and my passions in both French and science have allowed me to do that.

Contact: Ashley Yates; ashley.depew@maine.edu