EPISODE 31: RILEY FEEHAN

August 24, 2020

I grew up on a farm in Stormville, NY. It’s a really tiny town. There’s maybe one gas station, a pizza place, and that’s it. My dad is one of eight children. It's the classic, huge Irish catholic family. I have so many cousins I lost count. I spent a lot of time with my paternal grandmother, she took care of me when I was little after my parents went back to work, so I was really close with her. I was 7 when she died. She was a life-long smoker and had pancreatic cancer. I remember asking my parents, “Isn’t that bad?”. They’d say, “Yes, it’s bad but she’s not a bad person. It’s an addiction.” She went into hospice care pretty quickly and to my memory, she died very fast. That was the first time I experienced loss like that. It made me realize life is finite, and the people around you may not always be there. It was also the first time I saw a clear link between life choices, behavior and health outcome. I did not fully appreciate that connection at the time, but it impacted me.

In grade school I was into art. I never thought of myself as a science or math person. Those two things – the arts and the sciences felt mutually exclusive. I had no idea what I wanted to do. If someone had asked me senior year if I wanted to be a doctor, I would’ve said no. When it came time to apply to college, I had no idea what I wanted to study. I didn’t think it made sense for me to go to college. I actually wanted to take a gap year in Europe, but my advisors said no. One of my acceptances was to my dad’s alma mater, Union College. Ultimately I decided on Union, because to be honest I didn’t have a better reason to go somewhere else.

From the start, I knew it wasn’t a good fit. It's a tiny school in upstate NY. It was unexciting and I had a hard time finding people I could identify with. Academically, I wasn’t finding something I felt passionate about. I started to question what I was doing in college. When my freshman year ended, I started to evaluate things. I knew if I stayed, I’d land on a major and graduate, but that felt wrong. But the other option, to leave school, felt scary and uncertain. I knew I wanted an education, but only if I was pursuing something meaningful.  

I’m really lucky. I think a lot of parents might not be open to their kid dropping out of college, but parents were extremely supportive. Things always seem less heavy in retrospect, but it was a big moment in my life. My dad told me one of the hardest things to do is to stop something once it’s in motion. I knew it was the right choice but, in that moment, deciding to drop out of school was like stepping off a ledge.

I found a work exchange program that connects travelers to hosts abroad where you can work in exchange for room and board in Seville, Spain. I taught guests to make Paella and sangria and took them to see flamenco. In the following months I went to Morocco, Portugal, London, and Ireland. I met people from everywhere and it was reassuring to learn that many were doing the same thing as me, trying to figure out what to do with their life. In many countries it's normal to take a gap year to get a global perspective before going to school. It felt more socially acceptable. Meeting people that affirmed it was normal was really cool.

My experiences abroad made me feel more confident in my ability to exist in the world and take care of myself. When things went awry, I figured them out on my own. I had to. That was pretty liberating. But still, I didn’t have the grand epiphany I was hoping for. Eventually my travel visa ran out, and so did my money. So, I went home again and worked at my family's business, which felt comparably boring.

After a while, a family friend reached out to ask if I wanted to help him with his NPO called Bridges of Hope and Peace. He had been working with educators in Zambia who started a school in their community outside the capitol, Lusaka. It was an alternative to the government school which was overcrowded and too physically distant to be an option for local kids to attend.

I was skeptical of aid work. Today, even more so as I learn more and more about the role of white people in countries deemed “third world,” the whole white savior complex, and how a lot of aid work is really just another form of colonization. But this seemed legit. It wasn’t going to be us leading the show. It was the Zambians teachers building up their own community, asking for support. We did the fundraising, and Mukwashi decided how it was best spent.

So, I started working with organizing the project which included making a documentary on children’s access to education. We climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise funds and awareness. The rest of the time, I got to be a substitute teacher. I didn’t know about that part until we got there. Underprepared is an understatement. I had the kids go around the room and tell me what kind of things they had been learning about. They brought up things like natural disasters and disease. I remember one kid talking about the burden of alcoholism in the community. They seemed to be learning about public health issues. So we talked about how they could do little things to be agents of change in their own communities.

That was my first exposure to public health. I had never really thought about it before. But I saw clearly how where you live affects how you live, your opportunity, and especially your health. When I realized this was an actual field I could work in, I was like “Sign me up!” It was finally that lightbulb moment I was looking for.

After that, I moved to Boston and transferred to Boston University. Initially I had enrolled in a dual degree program for a BS in Health Science followed by a Masters in Public Health. It was great because I was learning about global health, epidemiology, things like that. But at the same time we had a lot of basic science requirements. I had never seen myself as a “science person,” but once I got involved, I really enjoyed it.

Almost everyone in my classes was pre-med and there was always the underlying conversation about medical school. I had never considered medicine before, but the more I put myself into that world, the more it made sense and it felt right. I just kept following it, and now I’m here. It had never occurred to me to be a doctor, so all these things had to happen for me to realize it. If I had stayed at Union college, I might’ve been a psychology or art history major, and it may not have led me down this path. 

What are your 5 Most Recently Played Artists on Spotify? 
My music depends on what I’m doing at the moment. But right now I’m listening to Beach House, City of the Sun, Arctic monkeys, Sylvan Esso and Drake.

If you could have any superpower, which one would you choose?
Flying- so I could fly anywhere I want at any time.

Pick something or someone from NYMC to give a shout-out to!
My roommates ( Nicole and Alex) because you guys are amazing and I’m appreciative of our home where we can support each other and cry if we need to. Also to Vince Galea, for editing this and making my life sound coherent.

If someone wants to talk to you, they should lead with: Ask me for vegan recipes- I won’t be offended. Also anything lighthearted and funny since we’re all so serious constantly. It’s refreshing to laugh.