Colorado Mesa University

FAMILY'S REWARDING HEALTHCARE CAREERS STARTED AT CMU Cameron Kesler, DO, '01, and Cami Kesler, FNP, '02 By Deborah Dawes Their children may be young (14, 11, 9, 6 and 3), but Cameron and Cami Kesler are already encouraging them to consider careers in healthcare. "We talk to them about going into medicine," said Cameron, a physician specializing in hospital and hospice medical school. "I still had work to do to get into medical school, some biology and chemistry," he said, so he continued at CMU while Cami completed her nursing degree. They had married the year before. Like Cameron, Cami came to CMU with an athletic scholarship but unlike him she was already focused on a career in healthcare. She remembers some faculty members were skeptical she would have time for both basketball and nursing, but everyone ultimately was very supportive. "They really cared about me. They wanted me to succeed," she said. She was one of the first student-athletes to graduate from the nursing program. Cami worked as a labor and delivery nurse while Cameron completed medical school in Arizona, an internship in San Diego and residency in Denver. Now living in Highland, Utah, Cameron is a hospitalist for Intermountain Health at Utah Valley Hospital and American Fork Hospital, and medical director of hospice care for Intermountain Health. With advanced training completed in 2016, Cami has taken on a new opportunity as a family nurse practitioner for Utah Valley Pediatrics. With the Kesler kids involved in soccer, swimming and baseball, the family spends a good deal of time "… cheering hopefully for a future CMU athlete," Cami said. And if they decide on a career in healthcare? "That would be a dream come true," Cameron adds. • care. "There's a big need for healthcare professionals and there are so many different opportunities." If anyone should know about the variety of jobs in healthcare, it's the Keslers. Initially drawn to CMU from a junior college in Idaho to play baseball, Cameron said, "I came thinking I'd study communications," until he discovered the exercise science program. And, since he had chosen this path, he tried out a few other opportunities. He was a receptionist at after-hours clinic Docs on Call, a medical assistant and a phlebotomist. By the time he completed his exercise science degree he had a new goal — Erin Perez, '17 Erin is currently an intern for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) in Colorado Springs. Her duties are to assist with internal operations and championships. As a CMU volleyball alumna, she has gained a big appreciation for all the RMAC does to coordinate a healthy league and put on championships. She recently represented the RMAC at the NCAA emerging leaders conference. Looking to the future she would like to get a SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTE TODAY. Keep your friends, classmates and the CMU Alumni Association up-to- date by submitting a Class Note. Visit SupportingCMU.org/alumni/class-notes to tell us what's new with you! graduate assistant position at a large university in the athletic administration area. In Memoriam Ruth Barfoot, '50; Wayne Hoover, '58; Ronnie Wunderlich, '63; Rusty Crick, '87; Alexander Kinsinger, '87; Dennis Sautelet, '89; Patrick Williams, '96

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