When I first went to college as a millennial, the message was simple and loud: go to college—it’s mandatory. So I did. I enrolled at Notre Dame of Maryland University and earned a B.A. in Psychology, convinced I wanted to be a psychologist…despite never having stepped foot inside a mental health practice or facility. Like many students, I chose a major based more on expectation than exposure.

After graduating, I joined the U.S. Air Force and worked as an Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor. That experience gave me a real-world look at the profession I thought I wanted—and by year two, I was questioning my path. While serving, I pursued my MBA and became the educational spokesperson for my squadron, helping other airmen navigate college and career decisions. That role sparked something unexpected: a deep interest in higher education and student decision-making. I fell in love with the system—but I also started to see its cracks.

Higher education often assumes students already know who they want to become. After all, you’re expected to declare a major long before you ever hold a job in the field. The gap between high school, college, and career became impossible to ignore. After separating from the Air Force, I went on to work for a top-50 university in Boston. This institution would become both my employer for seven years (and counting!) and my alma mater, where I earned my Doctor of Education. During my doctoral research, I examined a striking statistic: nearly 40% of recent college graduates are working in jobs that don’t require a degree. That number changed everything.

Ask Dr. Casey was born out of that realization—out of the need for better guidance before students commit time, money, and identity to a path that may not be a good fit. This blog exists to provide career insights, labor market context, educational clarity, and honest conversations that students rarely get soon enough. Here, you’ll find guidance on majors, careers, and decision-making—rooted in data, real experience, and the belief that students deserve direction, not pressure. Because college should be a tool—not a gamble.