Valentine’s Day Special: MCW Alumni Found Love on Campus

They met during orientation week, recalls Meg Lieb, MD ’23, talking about her now fiancée, John Feemster, MD ’22. At the time, they had just arrived as first-year students at MCW-Central Wisconsin.

“The very first time we talked was during one of the orientation ‘get-to-know-you’ activities,” Dr. Lieb says. “He and I were paired up. We started hanging out, and we liked each other.”

They quickly learned all the things they had in common, including a love of the outdoors.

“I’m originally from Colorado and he frequently vacationed in Montana,” Dr. Lieb says. “So we clicked on that aspect. We both really liked being outside.”

Dr. Lieb kept a memento of that first meeting and plans to add it to a scrapbook of memories they’re creating.

Better as a Team

They met at the perfect time, says Dr. Lieb, as both entered one of the most challenging times of their lives. As participants in the accelerated 3-year program at MCW-Central Wisconsin, the curriculum was tough.

Dr. Lieb describes it as a mind-blowing and extremely stressful experience.

“Every time you felt like, ‘OK, I think I've got my handle on things,’ the dial turned up,” she says.

Adding to that stress was the fact that their time at MCW began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Luckily, she says, they had each other to lean on.

“Having that person to go through it all with is crucial,” Dr. Lieb says. “That really made our bond tight.”

They studied together daily. Just as important, she says, they also took breaks together.

“You need someone to bring you back to earth and ground you, and not let you study for 11, 12, 13, 14 hours every day,” she says.

By their second year in medical school, Dr. Feemster had moved into a home she purchased.

“I was his landlord, his roommate, and his girlfriend, which was fun,” she says.

During her third year of medical school, Dr. Lieb decided she wanted to pursue plastic surgery as a profession, which changed her track. Dr. Feemster continued with the accelerated program.

He eventually earned a residency in the neurology program at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, while Lieb matched into the plastic and reconstructive surgery residency program at Southern Illinois University in Springfield.

Taking the Plunge

Despite the distance, their relationship continued to blossom. During a vacation with his family in Florida, Dr. Feemster proposed to Dr. Lieb on the beach.

“It was super romantic. I tried to tackle him, but he wouldn't let me. He just stood up,” she says.

Since then, the doctors have kept busy with their residencies while planning their August wedding in her hometown of Durango, Colorado.

Their wedding party will include several classmates from MCW, and Chris Knight, a program manager at MCW-Central Wisconsin, will officiate.

Knight, Dr. Lieb says, helped them and many other classmates navigate the tough times and find joy in their medical school experience.

“I call him the boss of fun,” Dr. Lieb says.

Knight even served as a de-facto relationship counselor for the couple, joked Dr. Lieb.

He’s even the one who first asked Feemster when he was planning to pop the big question.

“He went to John first and was like, ‘Hey, so are you proposing?,’” she says.

“Omnia Vincit Amor”

Once they marry, the couple will still have a long-distance relationship for two years while he completes his residency and fellowship. After that, she says, Dr. Feemster will likely move to Springfield while she completes the final two years of her residency.

Together, they’ll then plan their future, which includes a family and perhaps a move to the mountains or the Midwest.

“I think it'll come down to finding a place that we both like and will take both a neurologist and a plastic surgeon,” she says.

As their wedding date moves closer, Dr. Lieb can’t help but reflect on their journey of love. On her wedding ring is a message that was also engraved in the ring Dr. Feemster gave her when he proposed.

“Omnia vincit amor, which means ‘love conquers all’ in Latin,” Dr. Lieb says.