About Me

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About:

Born in Newton, Massachusetts but got to the grand ol’ state of Texas as fast as I could y’all! I grew up the youngest of five in Dallas, Texas so as you can guess, I had to learn how to fight for what I wanted at an early age.

Being the baby of the family definitely had some downsides (never let siblings babysit siblings...) but it also shaped me into the person I am today and I am so thankful for that. Naturally being the newest addition to the family I had to prove I was “worthy” enough to fit in with my cooler older siblings. That motivation made me fight harder not only physically, so that I didn’t get trampled when trying to claim the “shotgun” spot in the car or get crushed when trying to wrestle with my brothers, but also mentally. I learned how to fight harder, train longer, get back up when I had been pushed down (literally and figuratively) and have more determination just so that I could achieve the goals I wanted to achieve and prove myself in a family full of overachievers.

The other best part of growing up with four older siblings is that I had four built in role models in my life that taught me many things, but the one that always stood out was something they showed me by example: live passionately. So that is how I’ve strived to live my life every day. I attended Catholic school all my life and graduated from Bishop Lynch High School in 2011 to make my journey to the greatest school a girl could hope to go to – THE University of Texas at Austin. At UT I’m a junior studying Human Development and Family Science with aspirations of becoming a Child Life Specialist at a children’s hospital so that I can spend every day brightening someone else’s. I’m also a Camp Texas counselor and a Texas Spirit; two things very near to my heart. I’m a passionate person who loves to be skipping rocks knee deep in a river or hiking trails, but would also be equally happy staying in all day to play indoor soccer in my kitchen or build organic molecules with my plastic molecule kit.

What else makes me, me? I’m a huge biology nerd. HUGE. I have an uncanny ability to fall asleep anywhere at anytime (yes this does even mean mid-conversation), I missed one day of class in the second grade and everyone learned “the doubling rule” that day so now I always struggle with spelling words with double letters in it – it’s my Achilles heel, and my dream job would be to be the person who gets to come up with all of the names for different crayons.

Why I Ride

Cancer can be two things: A hideous web of debilitating setbacks that spreads throughout one’s body and life affecting everything and everyone it comes in contact with OR it can be the motivation to embrace every second of life, the inspiration to spread knowledge and hope, the drive to push scientific research to a whole new level, and the passion to inspire someone to ride 4,500 miles to create a new web of hope that spreads throughout communities in 14 states, 4 territories, and 2 countries.

I ride for my brother. I ride for science. I ride for hope. My brother was diagnosed at age 2 with a very serious brain tumour, the size of a grapefruit, resting on his brain stem. My dad fought for him to undergo the experimental treatment despite the doctor’s insistence to stick with the standard treatment – a treatment that had a mere 10% survival rate for those who suffer through the painstaking process. For countless long days and sleepless nights my dad fought tirelessly and admirably until my brother was put on the treatment. My dad refused to let cancer steal something that wasn’t it’s to steal. It was this treatment that came to save my brother’s life; however, the other ten kids who had fought the same battle with the standard treatment on the beds next to him were not as fortunate, as one by one, they lost the battle against this devastating disease.

My brother, and all of the other children who have fought for their lives, lit a fire deep inside of me and since then, as I’ve seen other family members, friends, and even complete strangers go through this fight, my fire and passionate hatred for cancer has only been fuelled and has grown to an insurmountable flame. My brother helped to push cancer research forward and now it’s my turn. It’s my turn to give back. It’s my turn to stop standing on the side-lines and to jump into the action and join the movement of telling cancer who’s boss.

I ride because my brother’s huge heart, sense of humour, and generosity has touched all of the lives that have come in contact with him and he has definitely become one of my heroes. I ride to give the world a chance to meet their hero. I ride to beat cancer for good.