Third year Plan II/Neurobiology student from Sugar Land, TX. I want to be a surgeon because I like cutting stuff and fixing things. I enjoy hiking, breakdancing, weightlifting, "hooping," and playing the violin in my spare time. Just recently, I realized that I love the outdoors and if I had the money or time, I'd travel to as many places as I could. I'm still new to all this going outdoors stuff. My experience climbing Guadalupe Mountain last summer has taught me that a) deserts get really hot in the afternoon, b) 2 bottles of water isn't sufficient for an 8 mile hike up and down a mountain, c) wear sunscreen, d) don't hike with running shoes, and e) it's probably a good idea to plan things ahead of time. Hopefully, I'll be a little more prepared for this trek to Alaska. Wish me luck!

Six months after the my medical mission trip to Mexico, I saw fliers posted all over campus boldly proclaiming, �??TEXAS 4000 for CANCER, Get a free bike and ride it to Alaska.�?� I felt restless at the time and sought to devote myself to another good cause. So why cancer and not something else? I have a friend who fought lymphoma as a high school student and survived and even now her health is frail from the treatments she received 3 years ago. In addition, as a college research intern at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center the past summer, I witnessed the terrible, destructive force of cancer as it laid waste to the human body and all I could do was sit idly and watch. As a rider, I could do something. The money we raise will go towards cancer research and programs and hopefully our ride will recruit others to join our crusade.