CHARTING HER COURSE: McLaughlin embracing love for recreation, business in career

July 2, 2024

CHARTING HER COURSE: McLaughlin embracing love for recreation, business in career

[This story appears in the summer 2024 edition of the Northwest Alumni Magazine. View the print version of the magazine in its entirety by clicking here.]

Megan McLaughlin '03 grew up in Maryville with a passion for being outdoors and an entrepreneurial spirit. A day on a boat with her family in 2008 inspired her to make those interests her career.

"I had been on boats my whole life," McLaughlin said. "That entrepreneurial excitement started to take over and led to a business plan on how I could do this on a daily basis. I was seeking a way to make it easier for friends and families to be able to enjoy these beautiful waterways and have less stress on vacation."

McLaughlin is the owner and operator of Island Time Charters in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Her business offers one-of-a-kind experiences that explore the natural environment surrounding the island with historic settings, sandbar cookouts, sunset excursions and fireworks.

Now, with 17 years of experience as a boat captain, she maintains a U.S. Coast Guard master boat captain license, in addition to other certifications. She credits the lessons she learned at Northwest for the way she balances her active and busy life.

"Balancing classes, collegiate athletics and extracurricular activities taught me how to create and achieve my goals - how to balance scheduling demands and how to be self-motivated," McLaughlin said. "These are skills I am constantly putting to use and grateful for every day in my business."

As a Maryville native, McLaughlin attended Horace Mann Laboratory School, planted trees around Bearcat Softball Field and played kickball next to Colden Pond. After graduating from Maryville High School, she earned soccer and tennis scholarships to attend Northwest. While her mother, Lana Linville McLaughlin '80, is an alumna, her father, Dr. Patrick McLaughlin, taught business law courses at the University.

"That was my dream come true," McLaughlin said. "Being a 'bear cub,' I watched those athletes my whole life and I couldn't wait to put on that Bearcat green jersey and represent Northwest."

In addition to competing with the Bearcat soccer and tennis teams and participating in several student organizations, McLaughlin was a founding member of the Northwest Golf Club. The University eventually added women's golf as a varsity sport, and McLaughlin's father served as the program's first head coach from 2006 until his retirement in 2014.

"Northwest created such a dynamic environment to grow and learn," McLaughlin said. "The professors were always motivating and encouraged students to get the best out of their education."

McLaughlin's knack for entrepreneurship goes back generations, however. Her great-grandparents owned a nursery and garden center. Her grandparents operated a dairy farm and quilting business. Her father owned a legal practice, and her sister worked as an entrepreneurial consultant for businessman Wayne Huizenga.

She gained her appreciation for the business and operations side of the recreation field while working at the Maryville Country Club as a lifeguard and as a clubhouse attendant at Mozingo Lake Golf Course.

While completing her bachelor's degree in business management and marketing at Northwest, McLaughlin completed an internship on Hilton Head Island and earned the opportunity to become an assistant golf professional. She stayed in that role until launching Island Time Charters.

"I wanted to create a life with a flexible work environment, one that allowed me the ability to still be able to share in those special moments with family and friends," McLaughlin said. "It is very well known in the self-employed world that your best preparation for tomorrow is doing your very best today, and I certainly live by that mantra."