About Me

Profile

  • Route: Sierra
  • Ride Year: 2016
  • Hometown: Houston, TX

About: Born and raised in Houston, TX, I am thankful for having the opportunity to call Austin my home for the past two years. However, with a passion for traveling, I have spent a good portion of my life either venturing off to new places or figuring out how to. I am always trying to find new hobbies be it hiking, swimming, fencing, or eating my way through Austin. In this regard, I’m a product of my environment – diverse and multi-faceted. I find the greatest thrill in meeting new people, visiting new places, and seeing new sights and I’m incredibly grateful of my family for allowing me the opportunity to have done all of these things.

Why I Ride

It shouldn’t be called the “Fight Against Cancer”, it should be called the “War Against Cancer”. Everyday, battles are fought, lost, and won.

I ride for my Aunt, Van Tang. In June of 2013, she was diagnosed with stage 3-lung cancer and the cancer cruelly took her life in November of 2013. Throughout her battle, I saw her physically grow weaker but mentally grow stronger. Her willpower and strength now resonates throughout my entire family and while it has, in some ways, created a hole in my family, it has also brought us together. My aunt did not fight the battle alone. She had each and every one of us fighting alongside her and although this disease has taken her life, my family and I still stand, stronger than ever, in opposition to this disease.

I ride for my former history teacher, Mr. Rick Madsen. He taught me how to be humble, how to love a subject I once dreaded and to never give up on my dreams. He taught me how to be a good student but an even better person. Mr. Madsen wasn't just a teacher; he was a mentor, a confidant, and a friend.

Win or lose, I ride for the fighters. I ride for everyone who has been hurt by this terrible disease. I ride for all of the families that have been torn apart by this disease and for all of those who stand in the fight alongside me.

You see, that’s the thing about Cancer: it tears us apart but it also brings us closer. Together, we will fight this disease. Together, we will triumph.