Mountain Hawk Heroes: Track and Field Alum Sarah Cassidy

Every Wednesday, Lehigh Athletics, Lehigh Valley Health Network and Coordinated Health is proud to recognize a Mountain Hawk Hero - someone associated with Lehigh Athletics who is making a difference in the medical field. We continue today with track and field alum Sarah Cassidy '17.

Previous Mountain Hawk Heroes
November 18: Shannon Alejandro (Track and Field/Cross Country Alum)
November 11: Simon Voorhees (Track and Field/Cross Country Alum)
November 4: Michael Metzger (Men's Lacrosse Alum)
October 28: Jen (Lance) Sikorski (Rowing Alum)
October 21: Shannon Wright (Track and Field/Cross Country Alum)
October 14: Darren Saks (Men's Soccer Alum)
October 7: Jenny Warner Southard (Track and Field Alum)
September 30: Taylor Wise (Swimming and Diving Alum)
September 23: Matt Christman (Track and Field Alum)
September 16: Steph Fratoni (Field Hockey Alum)
September 9: Mike Price (Swimming and Diving Alum)
September 2: Yasmin Deliz (Track and Field Alum)
August 26: Evan Guerrero (Men's Lacrosse Alum)
August 19: Ross Biggs (Baseball Alum)
August 12: Cynthia Izuno Macri (Soccer Alum)
August 5: Susan Westman (Rowing Student-Athlete)
July 29: Megan Hetzel (Track and Field/Cross Country Alum)
July 22: Lexi Martins (Women's Basketball Alum)
July 15: Nii Daako-Darko (Track and Field/Cross Country Alum)
July 8: Ali Linsk Butash (Softball Alum)
July 1: Kimberly Scotto-Wetzel & Jonathan Wetzel (Track and Field/Cross Country Alums)
June 24: Robert Bonow (Men's Basketball Alum)
June 17: Morgan Decker (Softball Alum)
June 10: Jim Guzzo (Former Quarterback)
June 3: Amina Affini (Women's Basketball Alum)
May 27: Natalie Krane (Women's Soccer Alum)
May 20: Tricia Klein (Women's Golf Assistant Coach)

By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications

A career in medicine has come naturally for former track and field standout Sarah Cassidy.

It's often the simple things that are the most impactful for a patient.

"I love other people's birthdays," said Cassidy. "I throw the biggest birthday parties, yet often feel like it can be perceived as over the top.

"But in health care, you can never care too much about someone. It's so welcomed and needed."

Currently a Technician at Bryn Mawr Hospital, Cassidy's thoughtfulness was the highlight of one patient's stay.

"She was there for three months and I found out her birthday was the next week," said Cassidy. "I bought a birthday sign and hung up decorations in her room. She was so ecstatic about it. My manager said no one had ever done that before… this is amazing.

"Now, we do that for everyone's birthday."

It was a natural thing for Cassidy to do, but showed above-and-beyond care for a patient in the midst of some of the most challenging days of her life.

"To me, it was second nature, but to everyone else, it was above and beyond," said Cassidy.

"That was a sign I was on the right track."

Medical Aspirations
Growing up, Cassidy was very interested in science.

"Starting from seventh grade biology, I loved it," she said. "In high school, I volunteered in the local ER for four years to get closer to medicine in action. At Lehigh, a lot of my curiosity was piqued by science."
Sarah Cassidy

After graduating Lehigh, Cassidy worked for her first year (unrelated to medicine), but felt drawn back to the medical field. At that time (January, 2019), her goal was to attend a physician assistant program.

She took several prerequisite classes at local colleges, which included an anatomy class.

"You're learning literally every single inch of the body, what different systems do and really, how they can go wrong," said Cassidy. "Studying was a breeze because I truly wanted to learn it. I was dumbfounded of how intricate and fragile the body is, but also at the same time, how it can go through so much and still survive and thrive."

It further reinforced to Cassidy she wanted to get into medicine in some form.

That she would certainly do…

Gaining Experience
Along with taking classes to get into PA school, Cassidy began gaining health care experience hours – specifically as a home health aide.

"I went to people's homes, usually in North Philadelphia, and took care of whatever they needed," she said. "It was very eye-opening. It could be an elderly person who just needed help around the house, or someone completely dependent on your being there. One patient had ALS and couldn't do anything for herself. She needed help with going to the bathroom, with feeding and with everything. There was always a huge range of responsibilities."

What Cassidy brought to that role was compassion and empathy.

"Some people said they never had someone actually help with this, help with that or care so much," she said. "They'd ask for me to come back.

"Health care takes everything in you," Cassidy continued. "You're giving your mind, body and soul to someone else, which is very beautiful, but also very exhausting. My home health experience was a pretty straight forward job. It seems pretty simple to go to someone's house and help them through their daily activities, but you don't realize how much of a huge difference that makes for someone."

Current Role
After working in home health, Cassidy moved on to her current position at Bryn Mawr Hospital, which she's held since September of 2019.

"As a tech, we're given a lot of responsibilities," she said. "I get all EKGs, take vital signs and do blood draws or any other labs. I get patients up and moving, helping out the nurses wherever they need it."

Cassidy is on the Med Surge/Telemetry floor, which typically includes post-surgical patients or patients admitted in need of surgery.

"Anyone who can't stay in the ER, but needs to stay at the hospital and doesn't have the acuity for the ICU/Step-Down Unit might come to us," she said. "We're like this middle ground, which means we can see anything."
Sarah Cassidy

No surprise, what Cassidy has liked most about her role has been the people.

"I talk to everyone like a real person and not just a patient," she said. "So instead of asking for the millionth time about their surgery or their pain, I'll say tell me about your favorite hobbies to get them excited to be able to leave. That type of topic lights them up and leads to amazing conversations."

As Cassidy said, every single day is so wildly different.

"You could have the busiest shift of your life one day and the next, it could be totally different," she said. "It's never the same, and that keeps me going."

Stepping Up Amidst A Pandemic
Cassidy is caught in the middle of a cycle which only reinforces her desire and feeling of purpose.

"I'll study some health condition then two days later, see a patient with it," she said. "That's what makes it so exciting. There's always going to be more things to learn. It's an ever-flowing fountain. The more I learn, the more exciting work will be and the more exciting work will be, the more it's going to fuel me to learn."

Cassidy's desire to learn led her to the COVID-19 floor beginning in April.

"I volunteered to be the tech coming from our floor to add to the COVID-19 floor," she said. "Honestly, I was curious about it all. I worked up there for two months and we still get pulled every once in a while when the census rises."

Cassidy wanted to be part of the front lines that helped amidst a historic pandemic.

"It was stressful because we didn't know what was going on and guidelines changed what seemed like every day," she said. "It was difficult and exhausting, bonding with the patient then the next day, checking the census and their name was gone and you knew why. That part of it was very heart wrenching."

"I still think of a few patients I really bonded with and didn't make it through."

COVID-19 has led to unprecedented challenges, but strong collaboration amongst hospital staff has been a difference maker, according to Cassidy.

"I can't speak highly enough about how well everyone works as a team at Bryn Mawr Hospital," she said.

"It reminds me of Lehigh. When you work together, magic can really happen. You can't do this job without working together, supporting each other and having each other's backs."

Lehigh's Impact
Cassidy's Lehigh student-athlete experience has already played a significant role in her career… and life.

"Lehigh demands you're constantly at your best, so that's helped me a lot with my [prerequisite] classes," she said. "I have almost a 4.0 GPA in all the classes I've taken since undergrad. Lehigh expected excellence."

The same was true on the track (and Cassidy delivered, winning the Patriot League indoor and outdoor heptathlon championships her senior year).
Sarah Cassidy- Field Athlete of the Meet

Sarah Cassidy- Field Athlete of the Meet

"I loved being on the team. Working with Coach (Matt) Utesch, the relationships I made, how hard I worked, and really being passionate about something, has all helped a lot now," said Cassidy, who was a team captain. "I see how you can reap the benefits of putting a lot of energy into something you're passionate about.

"I do that now with medicine."

Collaboration was fostered at Lehigh, and remains more important than ever in the medical field.

"Being on an athletics team is so similar to being on a health care team," said Cassidy. "Everyone comes with very different experiences and talents, all coming together for this one goal, which is excellent patient care.

"I've found that my people skills have been very helpful," she continued. "A lot of the conversations I have with my team now reminds me of college. I often try to be the mediator between two people, recognizing people's strengths, appreciating them, thanking them and highlighting their accomplishments."

A Bright Future
Just 25 years old, Cassidy is already making a difference in so many lives.

She is flourishing because she is her true self.

"Who I am really benefits the job," said Cassidy. "It's not just the skills I bring to the table. My personality and temperament help a lot, and how hard I work makes an enormous difference.

"In track, I would pay attention to all the details and watch the tapes to get a better high jump," she continued. "Now, I'm paying attention to the details in which hard work, passion and hustle have bigger implications… patient health."

As Cassidy moves forward in her medical career, her goal will remain patient health no matter the road she chooses.

"My end goal now is to be a nurse practitioner, which is very similar to a PA," she said.
Sarah Cassidy

The biggest difference is that nurse practitioners work more autonomously than PAs. Cassidy has applied to both PA and nursing programs.

"If I go nursing, I've been accepted Villanova's program and can do that accelerated BSN," she said. "It's 14 months then I can go back to school to get my nurse practitioner license, which is an advanced-care provider.

"I'd love to one day move into critical care," Cassidy continued. "I've shadowed in the ICU and it just blew my mind."

Cassidy wants to be on the front lines, helping people. She already proved it by selflessly stepping up onto the COVID-19 floor.

"Someone walking down the street is just a stranger until they're in that hospital bed and in a gown," said Cassidy. "All of a sudden, they're the reason why you're waking up every morning. That has changed my view on humanity.

"No matter who you are, we're going to give it our all – whether it's a very simple, straight-forward case or the most complicated case we've ever seen."

Cassidy pours her heart and soul into everything she does, and it shows.

"It's such a gift to truly use your entire self," she said. "At the end of my life, I want to say I gave everything I could to the people in my life, including my knowledge, energy and love. You can't take it with you.

"I'm very thankful for the opportunity to be in this position."

Lehigh University Athletics

Completed Event: Women's Track and Field at NCAA East Regionals on May 28, 2025 ,

Completed Event: Women's Track and Field at ECAC/IC4A Championships on May 16, 2025 ,

Completed Event: Women's Track and Field at Patriot League Championships on May 2, 2025 , , 6th of 10

Completed Event: Women's Track and Field versus Carol & John Covert Classic on April 25, 2025 ,

Completed Event: Women's Track and Field at Penn Relays on April 24, 2025 ,

Completed Event: Women's Track and Field at Virginia Challenge on April 18, 2025 ,

Completed Event: Women's Track and Field at Coach Pollard Invite on April 18, 2025 ,

Mountain Hawk Heroes: Track and Field Alum Sarah Cassidy

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