By: UWPIAA
Colleen Dowd – ‘84A
The “spirit” of Cast ‘84A is alive and well through the efforts of Colleen Dowd, its long-serving cast rep. The 134 registered members need only look to the Facebook page that Colleen created and administers. Since 2011, cast members can easily keep track of and share with each other. Following Colleen’s example, they find this a great way to plan “meet-ups” with each other as they travel throughout the years.
But being a Cast Rep is more than just managing emails and social media sites. Reunions are the most important events for casts. Colleen has attended every reunion of the group, and is the key contact, encouraging others to attend. At the 2019 reunion, ‘84A had 62 cast and family members in attendance. Above and beyond the reunion events, Colleen organized day trips of the Tucson community including the University of Arizona campus to restage the original cast photo taken in front of the fountain! The cast was identifiable by the custom “Cast A T-shirts” that she created! Beyond the regular reunion cycle, Colleen was also instrumental in mini-reunions held in places as diverse as Banner Elk, North Carolina and Paris, France!
Colleen has reflected on how her UWP experiences affected her career when she finished on the road. “I knew I wanted a career in hospital administration since I was 16 years old. Many of my castmates on PR would arrange for me to spend the day in a hospital on our career days. At the end of our UWP year, I had spent time in hospitals in the US and Europe. That experience cemented my desire to work in healthcare, which I did for nearly 35 years.”
When the cast needed to pull together for the family of a fellow cast member, it was Colleen who organized things. The passing of Michael Goldberg, last summer, brought the cast together to provide food for one of the Shiva gatherings. Then, on Michael’s birthday in October, Colleen encouraged cast members to honor Michael’s wish of buying a cup of coffee for a stranger in his memory. The cast members who participated in the activity said how rewarding it was to go up to a stranger and offer to buy them a cup of coffee. They then talked with that person about Michael to keep his spirit alive.
Keeping the UWP “spirit alive” is an overarching goal of the UWPIAA and through Cast and Crew Reps like Colleen, that spirit is nurtured within Cast ‘84A and shared throughout the world.