About Me

Profile

About: Although I spent my kindergarten through middle school years in Oakland, California, I consider home to be Round Rock, Texas – just a stone’s throw away from Austin! The chapter of my life I spent in Oakland has definitely shaped who I am today, and for many more reasons than I could have imagined. I grew up in an extended-family household which, in retrospect, probably taught me more about the true meaning of family – in my case, a support system under one roof that shared laughs, tears, struggles, hugs, kisses…and cake, lots of cake.

Most homes in the area where I lived didn’t have backyards, but the salmon-colored house I grew up in stood across from an empty field in which I spent countless afternoons with my younger sister at my tail. With my personal assistant, I would spend hours scouring the grassy lot for eye-catching rocks, oxidized pieces of metal, or whatever else the lot had in store for me on that particular day (one day I found a broken razor scooter!). In the summers, I would spend most of my day there, catching buckeye butterflies and riding my bike on the street down the hill from our house. Although the lot was only a few steps from my front door, I treated it as a retreat – a home away from home where I could just revel in nature and in my own imagination. On afternoons spent indoors, my sister and I would gather around the TV and watch “PBS Kids” while my grandma sliced fruit for us in the kitchen, usually apples. These years went by fast, and a few years after my youngest sister was born, my parents decided to move, marking the end of the chapter of my life in Oakland and the beginning of its chapter in Round Rock.

We moved the summer before the start of high school, and I used it as a fresh start - an opportunity to define myself. Over the past seven years, I’ve been blessed with the most meaningful and sincere friendships that I could have asked for and I cherish each of them.

Needless to say, it’s hard to believe I’m already in my final year at The University of Texas, and to be honest, the past few years have gone by so fast that I’m not exactly sure how I got here.


But I'm fine with that, as long as I know where I’m going.

Why I Ride

In the winter of 2013, I found myself sitting in my relatives’ living room. My family was visiting my aunt, as we had recently learned about her cancer diagnosis. Up until then, I had often heard stories of friends’ family members struggling with the idea of having cancer as much as the condition itself, but I couldn’t imagine how that was possible. The trip was a leveling experience, but it was an equally inspiring one. My observations uncovered the reality in each of the stories I had heard, and from what I saw, I developed a deep appreciation for my relatives’ strength. Moving forward, I decided I wanted to utilize any opportunity to become involved with the cancer community to both educate myself and express my solidarity with those who fight for their lives.

Over the past two years, I’ve been blessed with numerous opportunities to engage and learn from this powerful community. During the past two summers, I have served as a volunteer counselor at Camp Kesem, a student organization and charity that funds and organizes a summer camp for kids with a parent affected by cancer. I was given the opportunity to work with some of the bravest, most creative, and most talented kids I have ever met, and I learned more about what it means to be part of a community than I ever have before. I consider the bonds between myself, the campers, and my fellow counselors as one of my greatest achievements as an individual. They have truly taught me what it means to be strong and courageous in more ways than I could have imagined.

I ride for my family and friends, for parents and kids, for my Camp Kesem family, and for the chance to bring hope to communities and a forum for fighters to share their stories.