The Student of the Year Campaign means much more to me than just a competition amongst my peers. When I was a child my mother was diagnosed with cancer. She was forced into a position where she had to prepare herself for the possibility of death. She had two toddlers who she wasn't sure she would ever see grow and this helped motivate her to fight for her life. My mother was extremely lucky. She beat the odds and was able to recover but it took years of chemotherapy and surgeries to do so. Not everyone gets the same second chance at life. My grandfather Vannie Graves had a long and draining fight against cancer/alzheimer's and ended up dying two years ago. It hit my family and I extremely hard to have to go through the process of watching a loved one slowly die for the second time. Thankfully my mom was able to recover and gain her health back, but my Papa Vannie wasn't as lucky. This is why I would like to talk about a 12-year-old boy named Caden Timmer. He's like most middle schoolers: he likes soccer, loves bean and cheese burritos, and enjoys hanging with friends. He currently attends Carmel Valley Middle School (the same middle school my sister and I went to) and he describes his parents as his role models. Three years ago on January 17th, 2017 Caden was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Thankfully after three years of treatment, he will hopefully be done with treatment on May 2020. Still, anyone who has been impacted by cancer knows nothing is guaranteed until a cure is found. This is why I am so passionate about this fundraising campaign. At any moment after treatment, Caden could have a recurrence and have to go through Chemotherapy again. With a cure, this young boy would be guaranteed his life (something more important than money or materialistic objects). Yes, my grandfather was very unlucky when he died from cancer even when things were 'looking better'. Yes, my mom was incredibly lucky to survive cancer when she had a 70% chance of dying. Yes, Caden is lucky to finally be attending school again and hopefully ending treatment soon. But this is something that shouldn't be so heavily based on unpredictable factors-this is human life on the line. Let's work together to make surviving cancer not based on luck but based on a full-proof cure. The only way for this to occur is by coming together and donating to the people searching for a cure. Any donations possible would be appreciated to help aid scientist's efforts in turning the cure for cancer from a hope to a reality. 

I am honored to participate as a team member for the 2020 Students of the Year program, a seven-week initiative in which select high school students from around the country participate in a fundraising competition to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I am proud to support my candidate and am raising critical dollars in honor of a young patient hero who is currently battling or is in remission from a blood cancer. Each dollar is a vote. The candidate team that raises the most money at the end of the seven weeks is named Student of the Year. Our mission is to not only raise the most money but also to bring attention to blood cancers like leukemia, which is the most common form of cancer in children and teens.

Since the early 1960s, five-year survival rates for many blood cancer patients have doubled, tripled or even quadrupled. And many LLS supported therapies not only help blood cancer patients but are helping patients with other cancers and serious diseases. In fact, drugs first approved for blood cancers are now approved to treat patients with stomach cancers, skin cancers, and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

We really are changing the face of blood cancer!

All donations are greatly appreciated and are tax deductible. They'll not only support LLS-funded research but will help provide critical information and support for patients, and support advocacy for laws to ensure patients can access the care and treatments they need.

Please visit our website often and bring friends who would also like to donate!

On behalf of blood cancer patients everywhere, thank you for your support!

For more information about LLS, please visit www.lls.org.

Here are some photos about me/my life so you can get to know me!

This is my Dad and I rollerblading together for the first time

My friends and I at a birthday party two years ago:

This was taken a week before my grandfather passed away from cancer/alzheimer's

This is my sister, my mom, and I for our Christmas Card four years ago

And finally this is my beautiful grandma and I on my 15th birthday at solana beach!

Hopefully this helped you see life through my eyes and to learn about some about some of my favorite places/things/people.