Anyone who visits Boitanio Park on Wednesday mornings may have already had the pleasure of meeting Morgan Hegg.
The 26 year old is an intensive case management worker with Mental Health and Substance Use and is part of a team that brings coffee and snacks to the park each week.
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Born and raised in the lakecity, Hegg attended Mountview, Williams Lake Secondary and Skyline schools.
When she graduated in 2013, she had two children — Sophia, now 9, and Benjamin, now 7.
After being at home with her young children for a few years she enrolled in the Health Care Assistant Program at Thompson Rivers University Williams Lake in 2016.
“I had a great support system and went to Pregnancy Outreach often,” Hegg said, adding her mom Naomi Hegg has
always helped her. “It made a huge difference having a lot of people rooting for me.”
While attending TRU she made some great friendships and had a good study group and instructors, including a nurse
from Cariboo Memorial Hospital (CMH)’s operating room.
After graduation she worked at Williams Lake Retirement Concepts, Deni House, Cariboo Place and CMH before she was hired by mental health in February 2020.
She loves the job.
Doing outreach, meeting clients where they are at, working with all levels of health professionals and helping clients connect with services they need are all highlights of the job.
Occasionally she takes a shift at CMH — most recently doing the checks at the entrance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Growing up she always wanted to be a nurse and said becoming a health care assistant was the first step.
Now that she’s working in mental health she is glad she chose her career path.
Hegg enjoys all that Williams Lake has to offer.
Outside of work she loves to spend time with her children and partner David Smith. They dirt bike, kayak and she and Sophia enjoy doing a lot of colouring.
“It’s a great lifestyle with so many outdoor opportunities,” she said of living in the Cariboo.
“We can go out our back door to dirt bike.”
Some of their favourite paddling spots include Chimney, Dugan, Dewer and Till Lakes.
Being a mom is also rewarding, she added.
“I love everything about it — watching them grow and become their own little person.”
As Hegg started working for mental health a few weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, she said she does wonder what it will be like in the future.
At home she and her family have done a lot of Facetiming to keep connected and because her mom lives alone she is part of their bubble.
Her children found it difficult being at home from school, she said.
“My daughter has taken up snowboarding so I’ve been learning with her,” Hegg added.
Anyone walking through Boitanio Park on a Wednesday is encouraged to stop and say
‘hello,’ Hegg said, adding she enjoys meeting new people and anyone is welcome.
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