Dolan started tap-dancing at age two at her local community center . She loved it immediately and gained an appreciation for the music and rhythm . She then started doing jazz , ballet , lyrical , contemporary , modern , and hiphop .
“ When I got to college , I started doing pom ,” she said . “ I always knew I wanted to keep doing it , but I was nervous because there are only so many hours in a day .”
Dolan attended the University of Washington ( UW ) knowing she wanted to be an engineer , but also wanting to pursue her other passion — dancing .
“ I ’ ve always been interested in engineering , specifically aerospace ” Dolan said . “ My dad flew F / A-18s in the U . S . Navy , and my grandfather flew B-17s in World War II . And multiple other family members flew , like my mom ! Flight ’ s always been something I was interested in , but they never pushed me , which I ’ m thankful for . They let me figure out for myself how cool it is .”
Dolan was able to keep dancing while managing her course load in college . “ People told me I wasn ’ t going to be able to complete my aeronautical and astronautical engineering degree while dancing on the UW Dance Team for four years , being captain and going to Nationals — and sometimes I almost believed them . But I ’ m glad I didn ’ t ,” she said .
FLIPPIN ’ AWESOME : Megan Dolan started dancing when she was two years old . PHOTO : SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
“ I had an awesome experience interning in Avionics Integration in Everett , Washington . I assisted full-time engineers with their tasks and completed an intern project with a leadership report out . I was able to attend tours throughout the summer including the Everett Factory , Customer Experience Center , and flight simulators ,” said Dolan .
“ I was encouraged to set up informational interviews to learn about the amazing work being done at the company . One of the engineers in my group even took a group of us flying around the San Juan Islands !”
Her experience during her internship led her to pursue a job at Boeing .
Dolan landed an internship at Boeing in 2019 .
“ After learning about all the work being done at Boeing , I could see myself there .
POM POWER : Poms are standard stadium equipment for Dolan . PHOTO : SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
DECEMBER 2022 | JANUARY 2023 ISSUE NO . 30 19