About Me

Profile

About:


I am a junior currently majoring in Biology while going through UTeach certification and ultimately aspiring to graduate and go straight to vet school. I want to be an exotic animal vet and hope to work in zoos around the world traveling and making interesting animals feel better! I was born in Los Angeles, California but moved to Dallas at the very young age of three after the LA riots made my parents say that enough was enough and didn’t want their children in that environment anymore. I am the youngest of 6 children with two brothers and three sisters so family is a VERY important aspect of my life. I am a mommas boy and I love her to death. Without her and the rest of the supporting cast that is my family, I honestly have no idea where I would be in this life of mine.

I am a complete biology junkie. I’m the guy that gets excited when animal documentaries come on Discovery. I’m that guy who thinks that Planet Earth on blu-ray may just possibly be the most beautiful thing out there. I love pizza! Pepperoni, jalapenos and diced tomatoes will make my day any day. I love to laugh and consider smiling and joking around one of my hobbies. Music is a thing that I believe really changed my life once I finally found the band I love (Incubus). I also drive a 2001 Galant named Betsy, I write poetry when I have free time and my favorite movie of all time is currently in a three-way tie between Stranger Than Fiction, American History X and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Why I Ride

I ride for my cousin Luis “Loli” Alberto Marquez and his brother, mom and dad. I had just lost my last basketball home game as a senior in high school and was feeling pretty low. I got a call from my sister and that’s when I found out that Loli had been diagnosed with cancer.

That night we went to visit him and there he was in the bed looking as bright and happy as ever. Like the word cancer had not been put out there at all. Days later, he was officially diagnosed with having leukemia and a plan of attack was told to him and the entire family by the doctor. I’ll never forget how defiant he looked and ready to fight this disease.

Time passed and I saw my cousin go through things I never thought I would. Despite going through chemo and hardly being able to do much, he still managed a smile and a joke whenever I visited. He even kept up with schoolwork and graduated high school. My cousin fought cancer for nearly two and half years before passing away due to a lung infection on March 31, 2010 that could have been easily battled had his immune system been up.

I ride for his mom, dad and brother to show them that even though Loli lost this battle, there are thousands of people still out there fighting the war against this terrible disease. I ride for them to show them that there is still hope for other people out there in the world going through the same thing we are, to show that we are still defiant and will never give up looking for a cure. Lastly, I ride for Loli because if he could smile and show courage while going through all that, never giving up and being an inspiration for everyone around him, then I want to give away some of that inspiration to others across America by riding my bike from Austin, Texas all the way to Anchorage, Alaska. :)