About Me

Profile

About:

I was born in Brownsville, Texas. I grew up with a brother who was a year ahead of me in school, and he loved to steal the spotlight from me. I grew up as the more quiet and thoughtful child, and usually didn’t speak until I’d thought out something good to say. I was in some of the typical youth activities, such as Little League Baseball, tennis, music, and a Tae Kwon Doe class. Eventually, my hobbies narrowed down to just playing tennis, which is what I try to do with most of my free time. When I was five, I told people that when I grew up I wanted to be a teenager, and since I did that already, I’ve had trouble figuring out what the next step is. Over the years, I’ve gone from wanting to be a scientist, to a band director, an engineer, and right now I’m a math major in the UTeach program. I might not be sure of where I’ll end up, but I know that life is about enjoying the ride.

Why I Ride

When I was handed a flyer about Texas 4000, I thought “Why not?” I never thought of an answer to that question. Instead, I thought of countless reasons I should. This is an opportunity to reach out to more people than I can imagine and help them through the hard times in their lives. Though the money we raise will go to cancer research, the hope and inspiration we provide will go far beyond that.

I ride for the late Rev. Juan Trevino. Even though I was never a deeply religious person, or a regular churchgoer, when I did go to church, I truly loved watching Juan preach. He was a man who had found true happiness in life, and he made it his life’s goal to spread his happiness to everyone around him. I’ve never met a man who lit up a room with his presence the way he did. In May 2009, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and a few weeks after that, he was told it was terminal. The Sunday after he found out his prognosis, he showed up at church ready to give a sermon just like any other day, and he kept doing so until he was too sick to get out of bed. Seeing him preach the last few Sundays, I could tell that he was in great anguish, but it didn’t stop him from enjoying everything he did. He passed away the following September. Beating cancer isn’t about living or dying though, it’s about not letting cancer affect your spirit. I know that Juan beat cancer, because his spirit remained high until the very last day, and his spirit lives on and continues to affect my life. I ride, because he would have.