Dr. Szlag started out as John’s undergraduate advisor and Megan’s masters advisor and has since become a good friend, mentor, and fishing buddy.

Ashley is a Production Shift Leader at General Motors and Megan’s older sister. While they may not have always been best friends, Ashley has always been there for Megan. From teaching her how to ‘fly’ when they were toddlers, leading to a nice goose egg on Megan’s head because she “forgot to flap her arms”, to several years of being teammates in high school sports, and now adulthood. Ashley is also an avid traveler and has been to 19 countries on 5 continents. Her picture is from a recent trip to Thailand!

Dr. Alex recently graduated with her Ph.D. from Oakland University. Alex and Megan met when Alex joined Dr. Yang’s research group as a Ph.D. Student in 2019. They started out as lab mates with a professional relationship that quickly turned into a great friendship. They still occasionally consult each other on their research projects, Alex made it into the acknowledgments of Megan’s thesis, proofread her candidacy proposal and they have co-authored a paper together. But they mostly enjoying hanging out together. Alex is also part of the crazy cat club like the bride and groom!

Taylor is an aquarist at the Belle Isle Aquarium and mom to a sweet toddler Jane. Megan and Taylor also met 7 years ago in Costa Rica during the study abroad, however no injuries were involved with the start of this friendship. Taylor did save Megan from a snake that was in her bed though, and she will always be grateful for that! Taylor was the fourth friend on the first Pictured Rocks backpacking trip, and since then they have gone on another trip to the Manistee River Loop.

Dr. Alana is a veterinarian at Strong Village Veterinary Center. Alana and Megan met 7 years ago on the same study abroad trip in Costa Rica that Megan and John met on. The highlights from that trip include Megan almost breaking Alana’s ankle during an intense game of soccer, and then proceeding to crash into her on a surfboard the following day. Despite the injuries incurred, Alana still decided to go on the first Pictured Rocks backpacking trip, and their friendship has blossomed from there. Fun fact, John and Megan introduced Alana to her newly wed husband Jake while at Oakland University!

Britt is a nurse at Henry Ford Hospital and is Megan’s newest friend. Megan and Britt were introduced through Alex, and first met 2019 when Megan, John, Alex, Britt, and Alex’s sister all went to Cedar Point together for Halloweekends. They didn’t become close friends until later when Britt and Alex came to visit Megan in Columbus the past two summers. Britt is also a member of the crazy cat club like Megan, John, and Alex!

Jenna is in medical school at Wayne State University. She plans to become an ophthalmologist and join her dad’s practice. Jenna is John’s younger sister. She is involved in research on various topics in ophthalmology. She enjoys playing soccer and has recently picked up rock climbing with her boyfriend.

Harrison is an Ethical Hacker at MSU Financial Credit Union specializing in cyber security. Harrison and John initially met in their senior year of high school. During their last semester at high school and following summer, they bonded over their shared love for fishing going out on Lower Long Lake and Otter/Sylvan Lake. From that initial summer, Harrison and John have continued to fish Michigan visiting one another to fish or catch up in Grand Haven, Sault St. Marie, Marquette, Anchor Bay, and Roscommon.

Tyler is a Ph.D. student at the other OSU, Oklahoma State University, pursuing his doctorate in Leisure Studies. John and Tyler first met in a group of mutual friends that went to prom together. Like Harrison, John and Tyler's friendship really grew that following summer. Whether it was repelling down cliffsides or just driving down Woodward talking about life, Tyler has been an amazing tour guide and friend. Fun Fact, Tyler's photo is from Megan and John's first backpacking trip. During that trip, Tyler paid them a surprise visit on their journey where he treated them to a real breakfast in the wilderness and delivered pizza to fuel them towards their next campsite.

Joris is an Assistant Packaging Engineer at Kellanova. John and Joris first met their freshmen year of high school bowling in gym class. From that John and Joris became close getting together with mutual friends throughout high school and college. When John was living in Kalamazoo, Joris and John would get dinner either in Kalamazoo or Battle Creek anytime Joris was nearby for work.

Andrew is the Head Distiller at Weiss Distilling. John and Andrew met through mutual friends getting together at Buffalo Wild Wings. From that, Andrew has become a great friend, spending many evenings hanging out with John when he was living at Oakland University. He is also an accomplished mead maker and has shared his passion with John through the experimentation of multiple batches of mead. One of these, dubbed mead man mead, even had commissioned artwork for the bottle labels that used a photo of him as part of the artwork.

James is a Sr. Field Service Engineer at Mitsubishi Electric. Like Andrew, John met James through mutual friend at Buffalo Wild Wings. While James and John's friendship didn't immediately take off, their shared interests drew them closer together including a desire to learn to backpack. James joined John and Megan and Taylor on James's first backpacking trip to the Manistee river loop. From this, James, John, and Megan try to get together anytime John and Megan are in Metro Detroit, or anytime James has a service call that brings him out to Columbus.

Matt is an Engineer at Knight Global. Matt and John first met in kindergarten when they played soccer together. From this their friendship grew. Matt and John played soccer together through multiple teams and soccer camps through high school. Matt and John also played video games together. John fondly remembers many get togethers playing on their Nintendo DS's together.

Ajay is an engineer at GM. John and Ajay first met in kindergarten playing soccer and basketball together. Like Matt, Ajay and John have been friends for what feels like forever. They spent many childhood afternoons having airsoft and squirt gun wars. Ajay is a huge Sci-Fi and Fantasy fan. His favorite Sci-Fi franchise is Star Trek.

Jacob is a Ph.D. Student at Ohio State University. He and Megan met 3 years ago when they started their program together, with Marc and they became her first friends in Ohio. He and his girlfriend Mikayla have two adorable kitties and are frequent cat sitters for Megan and John.

Marc is a Ph.D. Candidate at Ohio State University. He and Megan also met 3 years ago when they started their program together, with Jacob becoming her first friends in Ohio. He and his wife Kate have a sweet puppy Finn (featured in his photo), and are avid board gamers.

Theo is a Software Consultant at Siemens DISW. Theo and Megan met 8 years ago, but didn’t become good friends until John and Theo met 6 years ago while they were all living in Hillcrest Hall at Oakland University. He and his roommate have four cats (also part of the crazy cat club), and he is undefeated in Mario Kart against his friends.