10/05/2026
“You don’t have to know the whole course. You just have to swim the next stroke.”
Casey Shanley Kegelman ’05 returned to Suffield Academy with a powerful message about adversity, resilience, and gratitude. Casey shared how lessons learned at Suffield helped her navigate breast cancer and the unexpected tragic loss of her husband Harry.
Her message to our community echoed what she hopes her children will always carry with them: beautiful things can still happen after heartbreaking ones, joy and sorrow can exist side by side, and hope is something we can choose.
Through —Positive Vibes Only—Casey encourages others to acknowledge life’s challenges while noticing the light, accepting support, and finding reasons to be grateful. This November, she will carry that spirit into the New York City Marathon, running in Harry’s honor for Fred’s Team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Thank you, Casey, for reminding us to take the next step, support one another, and make room for joy.
View Casey’s chapel talk: bit.ly/PVOPositiveVibesOnly