Casey was born with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. After wearing hearing aids for many years, she eventually opted for cochlear implant surgery. This changed her life and the way she interacts with her world. She says,

“As a student athlete, my cochlear implant has helped me connect to my peers and teammates. I am able to understand my parents’ voices without looking at them.

I want to tell people it’s important to seek treatment for their hearing loss because they may not realize that they are missing so much around them. They should try to see what works for them. New technology offers so many options, and it does not hurt to try. I originally had hearing aids and disliked them, so I sought a different option.”

Casey is an athlete who enjoys running, playing basketball and playing soccer, where she was a part of the Ohio Premier Soccer Club.

Through it all, she has had a great role model. Felicia Schroeder is a deaf soccer player who played for Purdue University in Indiana, and then professionally overseas. Throughout her career she had to advocate for herself and insist that she had what she needed to succeed academically and athletically.
“Felicia Schroeder is my biggest role model,” says Casey. “She is proof that deaf people can unquestionably do anything except hear. Her successes really made me want to follow her path.”

Casey is a HearStrong Champion because she has a strong drive to make the world a better place and become an inspiring role model for others. She knows that anything can be overcome with the right mindset.