Profile

About: Hi guys! My name is Isabel and I am a 3rd-year biomedical engineering major! I am not a strong biker, but I'm always looking for an adventure! Keep up with my T4K journey by following my Instagram @isa2alaska

Why I Ride

When I was a kid, cancer wasn’t on my mind much. The wife of a distant relative, Cynthia, had cancer for as long as I knew her - it was just a fact of the family, and so I never asked questions. She passed away later in my childhood, and that was also something the family had accepted long before.

It wasn’t until middle school that I started to see the wider lens of cancer. A girl at my middle school, Sophia, was diagnosed with Leukemia. I didn’t really know her, other than to know that she was always friendly and cheerful. And she continued to be cheerful throughout her treatment and the rest of middle school, forming a group called Cypress Strong with other young cancer patients in our area. I didn’t really get a chance to talk to her much until high school when we led a Bible study small group together. When she talked about her experience going through treatment and what happens after, how cancer was still a part of her life years later, I saw the strength and hope she brings with her everywhere. She was and still is, one of the brightest people I know.

A few years later, in my sophomore year of college, I became friends with the wittiest, funniest girl I know, Alexis. There was always something about her, her direct manner and humor led to the biggest friend crush. A bit later on, after we had known each other for a few months, she shared a bit of her past with me and our friend group. She was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in high school. The way she talked about it, how it changed her high school experience and how it changed her, showed such strength. On top of being one of the funniest girls I know, Alexis is also one of the strongest.

Around August 2022, the same time I was learning more about Texas 4000 and considering applying, one of my friends got diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. This girl was one of my role models, someone I would study all night with at our sorority house, and take late-night car rides with while listening to Taylor Swift (she single-handedly rekindled my love for Taylor). And when she got diagnosed, she told everyone that we weren’t allowed to be sad and cry because she wasn’t going to be sad and cry. She changed my definition of hope. She is the reason I ended up applying for Texas 4000. She recently finished chemo!

These three women are the strongest, brightest people I know. And so I ride for Sophia, Alexis, and AnnaKate. And I ride for Cypress Strong - Taft, Sydney, Drew, and the rest. I ride for Cynthia. I ride for my friend’s mom, Mrs. Kayanan. I ride for knowledge and charity. And above all, I ride for Hope.