Profile

About: Hi! My name is Emma Skidmore, and I am thrilled to be a T4K rider for the summer of 2024! I was born and raised in the beautiful city of El Paso. My hope is to become a healthcare provider that makes all patients feel comfortable, heard, and understood regardless of identity, language, or culture. My goal is to be a PA (specializing in either oncology, dermatology, or ob/gyn). I don't love talking about myself, but here are 8 fun facts about me :)

1. Love sitting on the floor.
2. Catch me on any given Sunday watching Formula 1.
3. Morning person through and through; 5am is my favorite time of day.
4. Obsessed with drawing birds.
5. Gen Z slang is my downfall; never used “slay” in my life.
6. Music is one of my absolute favorite things (always looking for song recs!)
7. A sky full of stars brings me joy like nothing else.
8. Definitely overuse emojis.
9. Bucket-list is to travel everywhere and anywhere.

Why I Ride

I ride for all those impacted by cancer, whether directly or indirectly. It’s a disease with no mercy that tends to leave devastation in its tracks. My grandmother ("Bobbie") was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, almost twenty-five years ago. Through the amazing research and clinical trials available at MD Anderson, she lived another twenty years. She passed away the summer of 2019. I never knew her without cancer and for the most part I was unaware of her severe illness. She always had high energy and a contagious spirit. She made amazing food, clothes with a sewing machine, and played endless board games with my cousins and me. While she may have been experiencing discomfort from her treatment, she never showed it. I now know how brave she was. I ride for her. I ride with the liveliness she effused and the positivity she radiated.

I also ride for a close family friend, Tía Cynthia. She has been a huge influence, a second mother, and the worthiest of friends. She is stylish, absolutely crazy, cares deeply for others, and loved by all. She savors giving others joy, she listens intently, and lives fully. While she does not live in El Paso, she has been with me in spirit on all my journeys in one way or another. She has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma (cancerous plasma cells that collect in the bone marrow and crowd out the healthy blood cells). The cancer has spread, taking a huge toll on her physically and on all of us emotionally. Cancer is not only a physical disease but a tremendously challenging mental one. It throws support systems off balance. It tests your perseverance and happiness. It tests your will. So, I ride for her. I ride for others like her, who are living with the disease and feel not only the effect of the illness but all the consequences in the shadows. I ride to promote early detection, awareness, support and to give encouragement. I ride for all loved ones, and for all the inspirational and touching lives shared by all my fellow T4K riders present and past. I ride for the hope we all so desperately need to have.

I am so grateful for this experience and look forward to the journey. I hope to hear any stories of those I can ride for at emmasskidmore@gmail.com.

To Alaska and back,
Emma