To a lot of people in the Elliott School of Communication, Megan Nichols is the girl who checks out the cameras while sporting a huge smile on her face. But Nichols holds other passions outside of DSLR cameras. 

Experiences in the gear room

Nichols began her video production journey when she was a child. 

“I got my first camera when I was 9 years old,” Nichols said. “A little point and shoot camcorder, and I did video for fun and wasn’t great at it but loved it.” 

Nichols said she continued with video into high school and then college, and, in the summer of 2023, she began her role at the Elliott School Gear Room after being asked by alum Eli Maples if she needed a job. 

“It was perfect timing because I was looking for a job but wasn’t finding anything, and he just reached out and offered me the job, so I was like, ‘Let’s go,’” Nichols said.

In the gear room, where communication students can borrow equipment — from microphones to drones — to help with projects, Nichols and her co-worker Bryan Chavez are tasked with helping students check equipment in and out and ordering new gear for students to use, all while keeping the small space organized and tidy. While the pair typically works at different times, Chavez and Nichols have built a friendship through their work. 

“We’re friends, honestly,” Chavez said. “If I need her, she’s going to be there for me. We have that bond between each other. It’s not just simply co-workers.” 

Chavez said Nichols is “always so nice” and projects positivity. 

“She’s a cool person to be around and very positive,” Chavez said. “No matter if she had a bad day, that’s not really going to affect other people because she’s not going to bring bad energy.” 

A love of dance

When she’s not working at the Elliott School, Nichols has a passion she dedicates time to almost every night of the week. 

“One of my favorite hobbies outside of school and the gear room is dancing,” Nichols said. “So West Coast swing is the dance that I primarily dance, but I dance West Coast swing, two-step, East Coast swing, salsa, bucha, waltz; you name it, I’ve probably done it. I’m not great at all of it, but I love, love, love, love, love, love, love dancing.” 

Nichols said one of her favorite parts of dancing is sharing that experience with someone else. 

“Just to be able to dance with someone and have that connection and see their smile and just experience that joy together and create art to a song is just really fun,” she said. 

Like video production, Nichols said her journey with dance began at a young age. 

“I started dancing in high school. My home-school group did country swing dance,” Nichols said. “It’s a very informal, not a lot of rhythm or timing, kind of dance. But I really just loved it. To be honest, the guy that I had a crush on did that, so I was like, ‘Oh, I should go dancing.’” 

Even though “things didn’t work out with him,” Nichols said, “I was like, ‘This is amazing and I want to do this more.’” 

Marriage and graduation

Nichols may have lost a dance partner back in high school, but she later gained a new partner — one for dancing and life. 

On Jan. 3, 2025, Nichols married her husband, Joseph Nichols. Their journey began in 2022 and began with a dance. 

“We met working at my church in 2022,” Nichols said. “He was super shy, so I saw him, said, ‘Hi,’ but nothing really ever came of that. Well, in July of 2023, he randomly showed up at the dance studio, and then it was just history.” 

Nichols said that since their wedding, she has noticed the differences between Joseph going from boyfriend to husband. 

“It’s one thing dating someone and knowing them, but being married and living with them is way different,” Nichols said. “Just to see the way he was in our dating life, he was always there for me whenever I was feeling emotional. But being married and living with him, we can just wake up in the morning, and he just gives me a hug, and he’ll pray with me, and he’s just there for me on another level. It’s incredible and so sweet.” 

Before the proposal came, Chavez said he had a “sensation” that Nichols would be a fiancée soon. 

“It was amazing … She’d always talked about her wedding and how it was her dream,” Chavez said. “… Seeing the timeline of her being so happy and excited about her wedding and just talking to me about it was cool.” 

Chavez photographed Nichols’ wedding.

“I was so proud and almost cried whenever she got married,” Chavez said. 

Nichols will graduate with her bachelor’s in communication, however, she’s not leaving Wichita State yet. Nichols has enrolled in graduate school and will be pursuing a master’s in communication. After that, she hopes to teach media at a university. 

“If I can’t teach, hopefully I just can continue to grow with my dance studio so that’s kind of my plan right now,” Nicols said.