I was born September 17, 1988 to Harry and Rosanne Saginaw in Dallas, Texas.I graduated from the Yavneh Academy of Dallas in 2007 and am now a junior at the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in history and government. I enjoy studying the civil rights movement, swimming at Barton Springs, eating, playing basketball, and travel. Ever since I received my first passport when I was 12, my parents have instilled a sense of curiosity in me, a quality I strive to continue throughout my life.

“Charlie, did you ask a good question today in school?” my grandma Rose inquired across the Passover Seder table. Confused, I hesitated and then belted out over the family conversations, “What’s a good question?” To which she exclaimed, “You’re already learning!” As an 11 year old I would only beginning to absorb my grandmother’s wisdom: before giving answers we must first understand the questions.

I ride in memory of Devorah Mason, my high school classmate and friend. After a tumultuous 4-year struggle with chemotherapy, she died at the age of 18 from a malignant brain tumor. Devorah was an aspiring journalist, a talented artist, a devoted friend, and a loving daughter. She was an integral part of so many different lives. But cancer is indiscriminate. Cancer robbed her of ambitions for the future; cancer robbed her of the opportunity to raise a family; cancer robbed her of the rich and full life she deserved. But the cancer could not lay a hand on her triumphant spirit. In the darkest days of her struggle, instead of fading quietly into the night, she transformed her despair into an educational tool. She possessed the bravery and audacity to fight back by speaking out and educating classmates, acquaintances, and even strangers. I ride for the void that still exists in the hearts of many; I ride for a girl, who in her last days, thought of others before herself; I ride for Devorah so that others may fight and live.