My name is Megan and I am the MT-BC behind Meg McDonald Music LLC. You’re probably wondering how I got here and what my music therapy journey looks like. Long behind the 1,200 hour clinical internship, board certification exam, Neurologic Music Therapy training (NMT) and endless college music courses (for 0-0.5 credits, of course) is a girl who has always had a passion for one of life’s most simple pleasures; music.

I remember it so vividly still. It was the summer before I entered the 5th grade and I was on a family trip to New Hampshire. The car ride was about 8 hours each way and like a typical 9 year old on a long trip, my favorite question to ask was, “Are we there yet?!” After being told “no” many, many times, I was given a cd to play in the back of our Suburban. It was a Greatest Hits CD, by Queen. I plugged in my clunky headphones and was immediately hooked. I listened to the CD the entire way there and back, across various state lines. By the end of the trip, my parents would have rather hear me ask “Are we there yet?!” than have to listen to me say, “I want to ride my bicycle” for the 800th time.

Little did I know this would be a summer to remember, featuring the basis of my musical exploration. That summer, I switched from a private Catholic school to a public school and was allowed to choose an instrument to play for the first time. Being a typical young kid, anything I got to bang on was EXACTLY what I wanted to play, but of course, no mom is going to allow their child to bring a drum set into their home, unless they don’t value their own sanity. Me being me, chose what may arguably the second most annoying instrument behind the drums; the violin. I still remember the day I brought it home, so excited to finally open the case, only for a large black spider to come crawling out. Luckily, I wasn’t too scared. A spider definitely wasn’t going to stop me from making ear piercing noise come out of this instrument.

Flash forward a few years and I am still playing the violin. I have become the concertmaster in every school concert, even if I wasn’t an upperclassmen and I found myself practicing all weekend, every weekend, instead of going out on Friday nights. I never went to private lessons, but I began to explore opportunities outside of my school orchestra. I joined the Montclair State University Youth Orchestra and String Ensemble, as well as the New Jersey Intergenerational Orchestra, which I still play in to this day!

High school Megan dreamt about becoming a music therapist, because she knew she wanted to help others through her passion of music. While in middle school, two very important people in my life passed away due to cancer. One, being my childhood best friend and the other, my grandmother. Music was the one thing that got me through this challenging time and I saw how it not only helped me, but so many others cope with loss.

In the fall of 2014, I began my audition process, having only studied with a private teacher for three months. I auditioned for five schools, was awarded talent scholarships for three of them and even an acceptance on the spot at one school! I ended up choosing to attend Marywood University in Scranton, PA, because I was unsure about whether I wanted to go into music education or music therapy. I originally enrolled as a music education major, but quickly switched to music therapy, upon hearing the program director speak on music therapy during orientation.

Four years later, I graduated with honors and began my music therapy internship. I first started out as an intern at a local music school, which also offered music therapy services. Unfortunately, there were not enough clients to keep the program afloat and my internship was terminated. I remember this being one of the most stressful times of my life. I didn’t know where I was going to end up or how I would afford to move somewhere to complete my unpaid internship. A few months later, I auditioned for the music therapy internship at the Matheny Medical and Educational Center in Peapack, NJ. I was accepted a few short weeks after that and began my internship the following month! Interning was where I was challenged to become the best music therapist I could be. It was a period of a lot of growth (which was occasionally overwhelming).

Upon completion of my internship, I sat for my board certification examination and accepted a job in hospice music therapy, once I became a Board Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC). As if life couldn’t throw any more challenges my way as a new graduate, enters the *pandemic.* I was no longer allowed to see patients through my company and was given a desk job in lieu of this. Although thankful I was able to stay employed, I absolutely hated working behind a desk. I remember staring at those dreadful tan walls, so boring and dull in more than a million ways. It was here that I truly learned if I was not doing work where I got to create, that I would be absolutely miserable. I was told this by one of my internship supervisors, but never thought it would come to fruition. I wanted so badly to get back to doing what I loved.

A few months into the pandemic, I get a phone call from a recruiter at a local children’s hospital, The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital. I was absolutely in shock that someone reached out to me, asking if I was interested in what was essentially my dream position. I had always wanted to be a pediatric music therapist, working within the medical setting, specifically with oncology patients. I jumped at the opportunity, interviewed, and was offered the position a few weeks later. I submitted my two weeks to my previous employer and started on my current venture as a pediatric music therapist.

I am now about eight months into my current role at Saint Peter’s and I love every minute of it! I work throughout our general pediatric floor, the PICU, the pediatric hematology/oncology clinic, and as of recently, the NICU. Every single day is a new experience and the only thing you can prepare for is the unexpected. (To all the music therapy students out there, make sure you listen in theory class and keep up with your improvisation skills!) I absolutely love being in my current role. I work closely with the child life team, as I am the only music therapist… in the entire hospital! My role as a music therapist is expanding each day and I continue to look forward in hopes of growing and expanding my hospital’s music therapy program in the future. Let the music go on!