Heather Catley
Year: First Year
Hometown and Your Favorite Thing About It:
My hometown is the beautiful city of Pittsburgh. I love Pittsburgh because I feel like its size is what Goldie Locks would call “just right”. One of my favorite (and terribly cliché) things is driving through the Fort Pitt Tunnel late at night just to see the breathtakingly beautiful city view. It’s a scene straight out of The Perks of Being A Wallflower, except I enjoy all the action from inside my Jeep and am usually blasting a tune from a Jack Johnson CD. The way the lights reflect on the river and how all the streets feel familiar is why I hold Pittsburgh so close to my heart. Pittsburgh is home.
Why did you choose Chatham?
I chose Chatham because I think that it’s Narnia. In the heart of the city, Chatham is a little paradise and that’s one of its most appealing features. It was also convenient that Chatham offered a physician assistant graduate program, which is what I’m interested in.
Area of Study and Why You Chose It:
I am a biology major, and I chose this major because I am deeply fascinated with the human body and how it works. Learning about something that is tangible and happening each and every day right in front of our eyes (or behind them for that matter) is amazing to me. Biology is something I can wrap my brain around because it’s not something you have to imagine, it’s able to be seen beneath a microscope or through dissection. I hope to some day take this knowledge and put it to use as a physician assistant.
If you could assign everyone at Chatham one book to read, what would it be and why?
I would choose The Perks of Being a Wallflower (here I go mentioning this again, can you tell that it’s my favorite?), because I think it’s a fabulous story about growing up and that everybody can learn a thing or two from it. I’ve read it (and watched it) more times than I can count, and I think it covers just about every topic that a teenager may face throughout high school.
Suppose you can pick any musican/band to perform at your next birthday party. Who would it be and why?
I would choose Jack Johnson because I think his music is fabulous and I’d love to see him perform it live (and maybe dedicate a song to the birthday girl lol).
You have a friend coming to Pittsburgh for one day, and you can only take them to do one thing. What would it be?
I would take my friend straight to the Strip District, one of my favorite parts of the ‘Burgh. I highly recommend an Irish Creme smoothie from Prestogeorge and chicken on a stick from one of the street vendors. Delicious!
Which TV character would you want to be your best friend?
I would choose Jude Harrison from the TV show Instant Star. If you never saw the show, it was basically a story of a girl who won a talent search and became a famous singer. I always dreamed of living a day in her life and fangirled about her blossoming romance with the sexy and mysterious rockstar, Tommy. :p
Childhood Dream Job:
As a child, my “dream job” changed weekly. I’ve had a wide range of choices such as dentist, chef, architect (until I learned that I had to do math to be one lol), and transplant surgeon. For a really long time I had plans of running away to New York City with my guitar on my graduation night and becoming a famous singer. I did actually go to NYC on my graduation night, but I didn’t run away and, well, I didn’t become famous either, haha : )
Current Dream Job:
My current dream job is to be a physician assistant in gynecology. I’ve been searching for something that I’m passionate about, and that something is STD treatment and prevention (I know that’s pretty weird but hey). I would like to work with young women and not only treat but inform, and work towards a world where there is a decline in the amount of young girls contracting preventable STDs.
What do you love most about being a Chatham woman?
I love that being a Chatham woman means that I am receiving an education in more than just my field of choice but in my responsibilities as a citizen, my responsibilities to the Earth, and my responsibilities as an advocate. Chatham doesn’t allow you to be a close-minded individual, but a well-rounded woman.