By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
 
All classes were virtual last fall at William & Mary, and the cross country season had been canceled. Megan Kolbe, a neuroscience major who was set to graduate the following spring, wasn't thrilled about either development.
 
So she decided to take that semester off and work full-time as a medical scribe at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News. COVID-19 was (and is again) in full force, and Personal Protective Equipment was essential.
 
It was hectic and often not pretty. But it also drove home a point.
 
"It was really challenging seeing the less-glamourous side of medicine," said Kolbe, the lone senior on W&M's cross country roster. "I knew I wanted to be a doctor, but I hadn't seen the really stressful pace of an emergency room environment during a pandemic. 
 
"It was challenging, especially with the overnight shifts I'd do every now and then. But it really solidified that I really wanted to be a doctor."
 
That has been Kolbe's dream since her sophomore year of high school when an Advanced Placement Biology teacher inspired her. The assignments were relatable and the medical examples intriguing. The seed had been planted.
 
After coming to William & Mary in the fall of 2017, Kolbe began taking courses to put her on the pre-med path. After her sophomore year, she chose neuroscience as a major. She's scheduled to graduate in December, and her next stop will be medical school.
 
"With what she's demonstrated at William & Mary in all facets, and because she's shown to be someone who accepts responsibility, there's no doubt she'll have that ultimate level of success," W&M assistant coach Scott Jones said. "To help sick people get well, there's no doubt she'll be amazing at that."
 
Kolbe has been working at Riverside since last October. As a medical scribe, she essentially serves as a physician's assistant by documenting a patient's visit and helping the flow of the emergency department. This allows the doctor to focus on the patient rather than charting information.
 
During the fall, Kolbe normally worked four 12-hour shifts a week. COVID-19 was a constant enemy.
 
"I saw some of those encounters," she said. "They really did a good job of protecting the scribes and staff that aren't essential to the encounter itself, but I'd be in the room in full PPE writing down everything I could. 
 
"Unfortunately, I saw a lot of patients pass away, which was really, really hard. And that's still going on now."
 
Kolbe returned to William & Mary for spring semester while working part-time at the hospital. After going back to full-time in the summer, she has reduced her hours to no more than 16 a week with school and cross country back on her plate.
 
Kolbe grew up in a military family — her father, Franklin, was a lieutenant colonel in the Marines — and played "just about every sport you could think of." She gravitated toward soccer, but spending every weekend at a travel tournament became too much of a grind.
 
In the 11^th grade, her family moved to Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Her high school was Central Bucks West, which had a traditionally strong track and cross country program. 
 
"I joined, and I didn't take it super seriously for a while," Kolbe said. "But my senior year, I really started to have some success and enjoyed it a lot. 
 
"It was definitely the coaching and the people who brought me to running. It's a very friendly sport."
 
In choosing a college, Kolbe offered a transcript that opened plenty of doors. She immediately liked William & Mary's campus and learned she had a chance to run for the Tribe. 
 
"It's been a great part of my experience here," she said, "and I've loved it."
 
The cross country season is set to begin Friday with the William & Mary Invitational at Eastern State Course. It will be the team's first event in Williamsburg in nearly two full calendar years.
 
In the 2019 invitational, Kolbe finished the 5K race sixth overall (fifth among Tribe runners) with a time of 19:44.98.
 
Kolbe is the only senior on a roster that includes 11 runners who are freshmen or sophomores. She's also the only one who has experienced a traditional three-pronged season with cross country in the fall, indoor track in the winter and outdoor track in the spring.
 
"She has embraced that leadership responsibility and recognized she's in a unique position," Jones said.
 
Kolbe's teammates sometimes refer to her as "Old Meg" with "Young Meg" being junior Megan Dougherty. 
 
"Honestly, I don't love that, but I do love the chance to step up and lead them," said Kolbe, who is 22. "It's good for me, and hopefully good for the girls, that I can use some of that experience and hopefully be a good leader for them."
 
After this semester, Kolbe will be a William & Mary '21 alum. She has sent out 12 applications to medical schools, and now it's interview season. 
 
Of course, med school means four more years of school. 
 
"I feel like I'm a typical William & Mary person in that I love school and I'd be in school forever if it was a practical thing to do," she said. "It's exciting to me.
 
"Medical school is really nice because you're only in the classroom for the first year and a half to two years, and then they send you out either to the university's hospital or surrounding hospitals. And you actually learn in the clinical situations in treating patients."
 
That's where Megan Kolbe wants to be.