Alumna loved the safe and comfortable small-town feel of SOU
Meghann Erickson ’12 grew up in the rural northern California town of McKinleyville. Then, after graduation from McKinleyville High School, she attended Shasta Community College in Redding to work on her business administration degree.
After earning her associate’s degree in 2009, she wanted to finish her bachelor’s program in an environment that felt safe and like home but also wanted to be able to have a short drive to be able to see her now husband, Camron, in McKinleyville. Her step sister, Heather Buell ’97, was an SOU grad and had a great experience and passed that information on to her. After a visit and tour, she felt confident that attending SOU would be best for her future.
Once on campus in the fall of 2010, Meghann loved the sense of security she had in the small town of Ashland. She found work in the computer lab on campus and got after pursuing her degree. She counts business professor Mark Siders as one of her favorites. “Mark always left an impression with his quirky sense of humor and tests which were hard but always included some kind of question to allow us the opportunity to complete less questions on the test,” she said. John Kinard was another professor who had a great demeanor and advised on her Capstone. “John believed in us and always went out of his way for his students. A truly impressive educator,” she added.
In December of 2012, Meghann graduated with her bachelor’s degree in business administration then immediately found a job at the corporate office of Lithia Motors in Medford where she worked in human resources and community outreach for seven years before deciding upon a career in real estate and construction. “There is something powerful about driving your own American dream and I wanted to build my own business and see where I could go with it,” said Erickson. She obtained her real estate license, first helping friends and family and then quickly saw an opportunity to partner with her husband Camron and sell the homes she and Camron built together.
Tragedy struck the south end of the Rogue Valley September 9th of 2020 when the Almeda Fire destroyed 2,500 homes between Ashland and Phoenix. After that disaster, Meghann got more into the construction side of the business doing design support with clients, backend work for the business and put her marketing degree to good use. Meghann has worked tirelessly to make sure clients who lost homes in the fire, get their insurance payments in a timely manner and continues to work behind the scenes to help them. They have rebuilt numerous homes that were lost along with a 10-unit apartment complex that was destroyed that fateful day. “We and many others in the valley, moved as quickly as we could to get people back in homes and out of temporary housing.”
“My time at SOU are some of my fondest memories. From the quaint classroom sizes, to the spontaneous conversations with my professors and the stunning picturesque landscape walking between classes and on my walk home. I couldn’t have asked for a more desirable college experience.”
Learn more: Erickson Construction and Property of Southern Oregon: Meghann Erickson
