i was born in Denver and spent a few years overseas, but i moved to Houston at age seven so i like to think of myself as a Texan. i am in my 4th year at UT and i love love LOVE living in Austin. After a couple years and several frantic changes, i have finally settled on nutrition as my major and i couldn't be happier. i feel this a field that offers so much potential to make a difference.

As for my interests, I like to bake, sometimes I like to run, and I like to hear other people's opinions on things they feel passionately about. i enjoy hanging out with people that make me laugh, which isn't that hard to do. I have a loving and supportive family and amazing friends who all have enough faith in me to support me when I decide to ride a bike to Alaska for a great cause, and for that I am more than blessed.

I heard of Texas 4000 a couple years ago but never gave it much thought until my friend (who is riding this summer) encouraged me to watch the video on the website, and I lost my heart to it at that moment. My excitement about being a part of this team grows with every day.

In 1997, my grandfather lost a battle with lung cancer within only 4 months of being diagnosed. Watching him suffer was incredibly painful for my family, and we still miss him dearly every day. I often think how unfair it was he had to deal with this disease simply because we didn�t know then what we know now about the effects of things like cigarettes. As a nutrition major, I have learned a lot about how people determine a large part of their own physical health by how they treat their bodies. In our increasingly toxic world, it is getting more difficult to protect ourselves from cancer. I truly believe we can make a difference in this aspect through cancer prevention education, which is one of the goals of Texas 4000. On the other hand, sometimes cancer is not the result of environmental factors or personal choices. In college I have been privileged learn about St. Jude Children�s Research Hospital. St. Jude is an amazing hospital and home for infants, children, and adolescents suffering from rare forms of cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Their pain, physical and emotional, is made all the more heart-wrenching when paired with the fact that they are too young to comprehend why this is happening to them, why they can�t run and play like other kids their age. These kids and their families are only victims of genetic chance, and what will benefit them is research. Science and technology has come so far in helping heal cancer patients but there is still a long battle ahead. The fundraising for ACS and their research is another goal of Texas 4000. These are the reasons I am putting my heart into this organization, and commiting my time and effort to it.