University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Megan Roberts
January 21, 2021 | Gymnastics, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
When Georgia GymDog Megan Roberts was thinking about where she wanted to go to college, the junior from Toronto knew she wanted to get away from the cold. When Roberts and I got on the phone for a Quick Chat on Wednesday, it was about 35 degrees warmer in Athens than in her hometown.
During our Chat, Roberts talked about home, big cities, accents, experiencing her first biscuit, and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: Before we talked I looked at the weather today in Toronto, and it's 23 degrees Fahrenheit there. Meanwhile, it's in the upper 50s here in Athens. Are you loving your Georgia winters?
Roberts: I really like that I can go out in shorts and a t-shirt in the middle of winter [laughs]. I like the snow around the holidays, but other than that I'm not the biggest fan of snow, so I actually like it better (here). It actually was a factor when I decided to come to Georgia. I was like, I need to go somewhere warm, I need to get away from the cold.
Frierson: What do you miss most about home or Canada in general?
Roberts: Honestly, I miss being in a big city. Athens is such a small college town and I love huge cities — I want to move to New York City after college. I definitely miss the culture and the people and, obviously, my family and my friends. In big cities they always have a lot of different ethnic foods and different new places to try, and I'm such a big foodie that I do miss that about Toronto.
Also, I love shopping and there are so many big malls and boutiques and stuff, whereas in Athens there's a few stores, so I find myself driving to Atlanta to do some shopping.
Frierson: I have to ask about poutine. Are you a fan of it and can you explain why is it seemingly such a big deal in Canada?
Roberts: Honestly, I'm not a fan of poutine, just because I don't like gravy. Basically, it's fries, gravy and cheese curds. I'm pretty sure it's part of the French part of Canada, Quebec, which is where my mom is from. I do remember trying it when I was young. It's kind of just a staple in Canada, but I'm not exactly sure why. A lot of my friends like it, but I was never the biggest fan.
Frierson: Do you enjoy the slight cultural differences between Canada and the U.S.? Generally, I think, we mostly have the same stuff in our stores and things like that, but maybe the brand names are different or there are different flavors there that we don't see here, and vice-versa.
Roberts: Yeah, I've grown to like the different things. I definitely didn't have much fried food or fried chicken until I got here. I really like biscuits, which wasn't a thing (back home). I've tried grits and I don't mind grits, but there's definitely differences in the food.
I really love the Southern people, everyone is very polite and welcoming, just the Southern charm I've really enjoyed. As much as I love cities, I do love the town of Athens, especially the downtown area.
Frierson: You'd never had a biscuit before you came to Athens?
Roberts: No [laughs]. Oh, I also love cornbread. I'd never had that before either.
Frierson: How old were you when you got started in gymnastics and when did it become something more than a hobby?
Roberts: I think I started gymnastics around 4 or 5. I was a very energetic kid, so my parents put me in a lot of different sports. I did figure skating, soccer and gymnastics, those were the main ones, and I really liked figure skating — my mom did it — but I didn't like being in the cold.
Soccer I played up until I was about 12 or 13, and then I had to stop because of gymnastics. I was basically going all three — gymnastics had been my favorite since I was young — but I kind of liked to do a little bit of everything.
I kind of just fell in love with gymnastics. I was good at it from a young age and so I knew that it could go somewhere if I put my mind to it and I worked hard enough. There have been ups and downs but gymnastics is who I am at this point and I think college is really when I started to fall in love with gymnastics again, being part of a team and not just competing for myself.
It's going to be crazy to imagine my life without gymnastics in a couple of years.
Frierson: If you could be great at anything for a day, just to experience it, what would it be?
Roberts: I wish I could sing. I love to sing in the shower but I am an awful singer [laughs].
Frierson: If you could nail perfectly one song, what would it be?
Roberts: I really like Ed Sheeran, so it would probably be one of his songs. Or, if I could sing like Adele, her song "Someone Like You." I'd love to be able to hit those high notes.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Roberts: A chicken and cheese quesadilla or spaghetti Bolognese. I really like a restaurant called Taqueria Tsunami, and Depalma's is really where I get my pasta usually. Everyone makes fun of the fact that I say "pasta" (with the first syllable sounding like "pass") instead of how you say it here.
Frierson: Hey, as a whole a lot of us that live in the South sound pretty funny compared to Canada or other parts of the U.S. It's funny you say that because I was watching a documentary the other night and it didn't take me long to realize that the people talking were Canadian, because of they way they pronounced "about" and "out," where it sounds more like "oat."
Roberts: Do you think that I have a Canadian accent?
Frierson: No, I haven't picked up on anything.
Roberts: No one here has said anything about it.
Frierson: I would have thought you were from California or most anywhere without a specific accent.
Roberts: That's what most people have told me.
Frierson: In a perfect world, what are you doing 10 years from now?
Roberts: I'm a Public Relations major and a Fashion Merchandising minor, so I would ideally like to work and run P.R. for a high-end fashion company like Coco Chanel or Gucci or something along those lines. I want to work on promoting their brand and increasing their revenue and reaching new target audiences.
I really enjoy working with people. I was originally a Business major, and then I really liked the marketing aspect of it but I didn't like all the numbers. That's when I decided to do public relations and advertising and work more on the creative side, trying to create campaigns to attract new customers. I really want to be in New York City doing that.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Staff Writer
When Georgia GymDog Megan Roberts was thinking about where she wanted to go to college, the junior from Toronto knew she wanted to get away from the cold. When Roberts and I got on the phone for a Quick Chat on Wednesday, it was about 35 degrees warmer in Athens than in her hometown.
During our Chat, Roberts talked about home, big cities, accents, experiencing her first biscuit, and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: Before we talked I looked at the weather today in Toronto, and it's 23 degrees Fahrenheit there. Meanwhile, it's in the upper 50s here in Athens. Are you loving your Georgia winters?
Roberts: I really like that I can go out in shorts and a t-shirt in the middle of winter [laughs]. I like the snow around the holidays, but other than that I'm not the biggest fan of snow, so I actually like it better (here). It actually was a factor when I decided to come to Georgia. I was like, I need to go somewhere warm, I need to get away from the cold.
Frierson: What do you miss most about home or Canada in general?
Roberts: Honestly, I miss being in a big city. Athens is such a small college town and I love huge cities — I want to move to New York City after college. I definitely miss the culture and the people and, obviously, my family and my friends. In big cities they always have a lot of different ethnic foods and different new places to try, and I'm such a big foodie that I do miss that about Toronto.
Also, I love shopping and there are so many big malls and boutiques and stuff, whereas in Athens there's a few stores, so I find myself driving to Atlanta to do some shopping.
Frierson: I have to ask about poutine. Are you a fan of it and can you explain why is it seemingly such a big deal in Canada?
Roberts: Honestly, I'm not a fan of poutine, just because I don't like gravy. Basically, it's fries, gravy and cheese curds. I'm pretty sure it's part of the French part of Canada, Quebec, which is where my mom is from. I do remember trying it when I was young. It's kind of just a staple in Canada, but I'm not exactly sure why. A lot of my friends like it, but I was never the biggest fan.
Frierson: Do you enjoy the slight cultural differences between Canada and the U.S.? Generally, I think, we mostly have the same stuff in our stores and things like that, but maybe the brand names are different or there are different flavors there that we don't see here, and vice-versa.
Roberts: Yeah, I've grown to like the different things. I definitely didn't have much fried food or fried chicken until I got here. I really like biscuits, which wasn't a thing (back home). I've tried grits and I don't mind grits, but there's definitely differences in the food.
I really love the Southern people, everyone is very polite and welcoming, just the Southern charm I've really enjoyed. As much as I love cities, I do love the town of Athens, especially the downtown area.
Frierson: You'd never had a biscuit before you came to Athens?
Roberts: No [laughs]. Oh, I also love cornbread. I'd never had that before either.
Frierson: How old were you when you got started in gymnastics and when did it become something more than a hobby?
Roberts: I think I started gymnastics around 4 or 5. I was a very energetic kid, so my parents put me in a lot of different sports. I did figure skating, soccer and gymnastics, those were the main ones, and I really liked figure skating — my mom did it — but I didn't like being in the cold.
Soccer I played up until I was about 12 or 13, and then I had to stop because of gymnastics. I was basically going all three — gymnastics had been my favorite since I was young — but I kind of liked to do a little bit of everything.
I kind of just fell in love with gymnastics. I was good at it from a young age and so I knew that it could go somewhere if I put my mind to it and I worked hard enough. There have been ups and downs but gymnastics is who I am at this point and I think college is really when I started to fall in love with gymnastics again, being part of a team and not just competing for myself.
It's going to be crazy to imagine my life without gymnastics in a couple of years.
Frierson: If you could be great at anything for a day, just to experience it, what would it be?
Roberts: I wish I could sing. I love to sing in the shower but I am an awful singer [laughs].
Frierson: If you could nail perfectly one song, what would it be?
Roberts: I really like Ed Sheeran, so it would probably be one of his songs. Or, if I could sing like Adele, her song "Someone Like You." I'd love to be able to hit those high notes.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Roberts: A chicken and cheese quesadilla or spaghetti Bolognese. I really like a restaurant called Taqueria Tsunami, and Depalma's is really where I get my pasta usually. Everyone makes fun of the fact that I say "pasta" (with the first syllable sounding like "pass") instead of how you say it here.
Frierson: Hey, as a whole a lot of us that live in the South sound pretty funny compared to Canada or other parts of the U.S. It's funny you say that because I was watching a documentary the other night and it didn't take me long to realize that the people talking were Canadian, because of they way they pronounced "about" and "out," where it sounds more like "oat."
Roberts: Do you think that I have a Canadian accent?
Frierson: No, I haven't picked up on anything.
Roberts: No one here has said anything about it.
Frierson: I would have thought you were from California or most anywhere without a specific accent.
Roberts: That's what most people have told me.
Frierson: In a perfect world, what are you doing 10 years from now?
Roberts: I'm a Public Relations major and a Fashion Merchandising minor, so I would ideally like to work and run P.R. for a high-end fashion company like Coco Chanel or Gucci or something along those lines. I want to work on promoting their brand and increasing their revenue and reaching new target audiences.
I really enjoy working with people. I was originally a Business major, and then I really liked the marketing aspect of it but I didn't like all the numbers. That's when I decided to do public relations and advertising and work more on the creative side, trying to create campaigns to attract new customers. I really want to be in New York City doing that.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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