Q&A with Megan Lease: KU's First PhD Candidate in Women's Studies

On the first day of the new semester, Megan Lease made history. Megan defended her dissertation, “A Strong Woman of the Lord: Performing Gender at the Intersection of Sport and Evangelical Christianity," making her the first student at KU to receive a PhD from the Department of Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies. KU is one of only 14 programs in the United States that offer a PhD in Women’s Studies. After her defense we were able to catch up with Megan to learn a little bit more about KU's first Women's Studies doctoral candidate.

Hometown: Elizabeth City, North Carolina

Undergraduate major: History

Tell us more about your dissertation: My dissertation examines how female Christian athletes negotiate various and sometimes competing gendered expectations as Christians, women, and athletes.

Finish this sentence: “"In five years, I’ll be... financially stable and able to go on a vacation that isn’t an academic conference.”

"My favorite KU memory is... sitting by the pond with someone special”

"I became a Jayhawk because... the faculty in my department were super supportive. ”

"I’m most proud of... getting my doctorate in 4 years.”

The best advice I ever got: Don’t waste time caring what other people think about you.

My guilty pleasure: pro-wrestling

My super power would be: super strength.

What was the last thing you read for fun? Disgrace by JM Coetzee

What inspires you? My partner.

What’s at the top of your bucket list? Get a dog.

What did you want to be when you were growing up? A medical doctor.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party? Batista, Dolf Ziggler, and the Big Show (pro wrestlers)