Meghan Casey hopes to make her future career in medicine a laughing matter. The Colorado State University psychology major is dedicated to helping children through health care as well as through educational entertainment.
“While my dream is to be a pediatrician, my ultimate dream is to one day have a TV show that teaches kids about health, safety and fitness,” Casey said. And she has the chops – and the plan to reach that goal.
She has spent the summer traveling to libraries across the U.S. performing a children’s show about teamwork – with the help of her ventriloquism puppet, a dinosaur named Aidan. After she graduates, she plans to continue performing before getting her EMT certification. She hopes to work as an EMT before going back to school to become a physician assistant.
A voice for healing
Casey has nurtured a dual passion for health care and for entertainment since she was a child. “My inspiration to have a career in the medical field was my little brother, Michael,” she said. Michael was born with Treacher Collins syndrome, which affects the development of bones and other tissues in the face and can require undergoing dozens of surgeries from a very young age. “I remember going to the hospital when I first started to learn ventriloquism at 5 years old, and hearing his little belly laugh was the best thing in the world.”
Although she has been practicing and performing ventriloquism since she was young, it has been her coursework at CSU that has helped to inform the meaningful content of her work. “Being a psychology major has really helped me write my show for this summer,” she said. “I’ve applied aspects of social, organizational, and behavioral psychology into how Aidan needs to learn about teamwork.” She has also wrapped research into her tour, gathering questionnaire responses from her audiences as she goes.
While on campus, as a student in the College of Natural Sciences, she has jumped into opportunities to learn more about the medical field. “I have job shadowed four different doctors and have worked at a medical facility during my time at CSU,” she said. “Having the opportunity to make those connections has opened up so many potential doors for me. Getting my Bachelor of Science in psychology as a stepping stone toward my dream is such an amazing feeling!”
