Commentary by Shelly Gattlieb
Law enforcement has always been a male-dominated industry, but that has never intimidated Megan Soultz. She has been an adrenaline junkie since she was a child and credits her father for influencing that fearless and adventurous side. Her parents were high school sweethearts, and she is the oldest of two girls. When she was 11 years old, the family moved to Carmel and continues to live here.
While attending college at DePauw, Megan was introduced to public safety and received her EMT certification. She began volunteering for the ambulance services of Putnam County and then completed a month-long internship with FDNY. During her internship, she was able to work on research and also helped triage flight passengers who were rescued from the Hudson River by determining level of critical condition, initializing treatments and prioritizing transport.
Megan later attended IUPUI, received a Master’s degree in biology, and shifted her focus to the other side of education. While completing her paramedic license and beginning to work as a paramedic, she taught classes in anatomy and physiology and pathophysiology at Indianapolis EMS for Eskenazi Health and the IU School of Medicine’s Paramedic Science Associate Degree program. Her career transitioned to a medic for IMPD SWAT, where she was a tactical medic and was exposed to the law enforcement side of things. It was during this time that Soultz found herself becoming equally passionate about both components and wanting to find ways of bridging the gap between medical treatment and law enforcement. She joined the Carmel Police Department in February 2015, is the only female as entry on SWAT and is already a field training officer as well. In addition, she instructs at the state-wide level, teaching EMS Awareness Class for the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.
Hometown: Jonesboro, Ind., in Grant County
Fiancé: Dan Brown, resident physician at St. Vincent’s, Internal Medicine
Glory days: Softball pitcher for Carmel High School and DePauw University
Amazing life experience: Living in Manhattan, celebrating New Year’s Eve in Times Square, and being able to participate in a very large urban ambulance and fire service
Favorite vacation destination: anywhere with water, from Florida to Morse Reservoir, as long as there is boating, wakeboarding, or tubing
Pet peeve: cars illegally parked in handicapped spaces
Best gift ever received: Bracelet engraved with late grandfather’s handwriting, from best friend Savahannah
Celebrity crush: Matt Overton, a good looking dude, solid guy, law enforcement supporter, and gives to charities
Favorite holiday: entire Christmas season
Fav music: Country, especially Garth Brooks
Completed bucket list goal: Charlie Daniels Band live performance (concert at Palladium)
Next goal on bucket list: Skydiving
