A turbulent home life has not deterred Meghan Quirk from meeting her goals.
Her father’s drug abuse and alcoholism have caused a great deal of strain on her family, but Meghan still looks up to him seeing many of his best qualities. He became involved in drugs at a very young age and a drug deal gone wrong led to him being convicted as an accessory to his own father’s murder. He was in and out of jail and went to great lengths to find money to support his drug addiction, including selling anything and everything of value in the home. Left with nothing, Meghan and her mom spent months living in her grandmother’s home in a retirement community.
Both Meghan and her father had to deal with health issues. Severe asthma has required Meghan to make many visits to the emergency room and hospital stays. Her father had Hepatitis C and AIDS since she was only three months old. As the bills mounted from medical bills, Meghan recalls collecting aluminum cans to have enough money for gas and the kindness of strangers and friends to provide gifts for Christmas. Unfortunately, AIDS took its toll on her father. He passed away on February 19, 2004, when Meghan was in eighth grade.
During all of this, Meghan didn’t lose her focus on education. After ending her freshman year at the top of her class, she wanted to be more academically challenged. She lived with friends from her church family in order to attend Hendersonville High School, which offers more honors and advanced placement courses. She only saw her mother once during the week and went home only on weekends. With a rigorous high school curriculum, Meghan will graduate sixth in her senior class of 332 students and now she’s prepared to fulfill her dreams of college, becoming a nurse and giving back to her community.
Despite these odds, Meghan has been comforted by her faith in Jesus Christ. Without Him guiding her through life and every obstacle, she wouldn’t be the person she is today. Meghan refers to Psalms 37:4-5 – Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit they way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.
