Editor’s Note: This is the fourth part of a series on young professionals who have gone through the Clinton Community Fellows program. The program’s goals are to provide a real professional experience for young professionals, give local businesses/organizations project support and capacity from the fellows, and attract/retain the young professionals in Clinton County, according to its website.
Megan Borton, CCF Class of 2017
A Wilmington High School class of 2016 graduate, Megan Borton recalled a wonderful experience with the Clinton Community Fellows program.
“It was so rewarding to be able to return home from school for the summer and have the opportunity to do meaningful work in the community I grew up in that was relevant to my career interests,” said Borton.
Of her two projects, the first was with Ohio Living Cape May, where she helped the organization establish a relationship with the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater of Cincinnati and feature the facility’s residents’ artwork in the local Art and Soul festival.
The second was working with HealthFirst for Clinton County to develop a Community Health Improvement Survey to gauge community opinion on health issues.
“After collecting the data from the CHS, I helped summarize all of the data collected by HealthFirst for Clinton County (i.e. Community Health Assessment and focus group data) into a report and provided analysis on how the organization can approach and impact the areas of opportunity identified,” she said.
Now she works as a provider contracting senior analyst with Cigna, she was given an opportunity to continue her work with HealthFirst as an executive assistant. She continued working with HealthFirst— helping coordinate their grant cycles and helping run their social media accounts — until December 2020.
She also worked closely with Clinton County Health Commissioner Pam Walker-Bauer, who was on the HealthFirst board. Because of that connection, Borton worked for both groups simultaneously.
“During the summer of 2019, I got an internship with Express Scripts in Dublin, Ohio, which is a subsidiary of Cigna,” said Borton. “Having that experience led me to obtain a job post-graduation with Cigna in their Network Academy program, which is an early career development program that prepares recent college graduates for careers in Provider Contracting.”
When she accepted the role, she initially intended to relocate to Virginia — until the pandemic hit and the “emerging reality of telework” — so she ultimately decided to move to Columbus and stay closer to home.
“The Fellows program provided me with the professional experience I needed to prepare me for my future career,” she said. “Additionally, it provided me with local connections that made me feel a sense of deep connection with my hometown.”
Even at her current job, she relies on the skills she developed during her time in the Fellows program. She added it provided a unique opportunity that one will not able to find anywhere else.
“The program provides the guidance, resources, and connections you need in order to be successful,” she said. “There is something so valuable about being able to make a meaningful contribution to your community.”
