Let me start by saying that I have the greatest parents in the entire world. I will be forever grateful to them for helping shape me into the person I am today.

As a child, I was an outgoing perfectionist with a questioning mind, and I have to say, I haven’t really changed much. I am an only child, and growing up in the Dallas Metroplex, I was involved in anything and everything. I have been to Lego camp, played the violin and the flute, gone to space camp, learned how to ride a unicycle, worked at the zoo, gone skydiving, and played almost every sport imaginable at some point in my life. Nowadays, I have a little more focus, but I still try to keep involved in a variety of activities. One of my favorite quotes just so happens to be from the movie Hitch: "Begin each day as if it were on purpose." That's how I try to live my life.

I’m a senior in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. I am currently in love with cycling, rock climbing, football, outer space, vegetables, travel, and Italian. I have two modes of activity: full speed and sleeping. I am passionate and enthusiastic about everything I do, and I can’t help but plan the next 5 years of my life because I have so much that I want to accomplish!

I believe in taking advantage of every possible opportunity and living your life to experience everything. I think everyone is capable of creating their own success and happiness; you just have to reach out and make it happen. Cancer is one thing that can tear my life philosophy apart, and I can’t accept that. Some people fight so incredibly hard to beat the disease, and they still lose the battle. Cancer can affect anyone, and it can stop their plans and life goals in their tracks. Personal strength and willpower are sometimes not enough, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. I want to fight to beat the helplessness and sadness experienced by those affected by cancer. We will find a cure; that’s for certain. In the meantime, I hope to inspire the world to keep fighting, keep dreaming, and not give up. I want to cycle to Alaska to give people that spark of hope and motivation inside themselves.

I ride for my friend Tanner and his mother, Cindy Hensel. Tanner’s mom was diagnosed with Leukemia while we were in high school, and I saw the toll it took on his family. We are close friends, but when his mom died in August 2008, I never really talked to him about it or told him specifically that I hurt for him and was there for him. He knows I am there for him, but I want to ride to let him know how much I care and how much I want to fight for a cure for cancer so no one will ever have to go through what his family went through again.