Profile

About: Hey y'all! My name is Kristen Stanley and I’m a junior accounting major in the MPA Program in McCombs. I was born and raised in Austin, Texas and grew up in a very diverse family with people from all over the world which has led to my adventurous personality and love for traveling and trying new things. My friends and family mean the world to me and as crazy as we all are together, I wouldn't want it any other way. I am known for being the person with big dreams and the aspirations to achieve them. My true passions in life lie within traveling and helping others.
I travel as much as I can, so pretty much when my savings and expenses allow me to. There is so much to see and do in the world that I can't just sit around and watch it all happen; I need to be experiencing everything I can! One way I did this was through studying abroad in Canberra, Australia in 2014. The friendships and memories I made while abroad are indescribable and unforgettable and I am so incredibly thankful and honored to have spent that portion of my life with great friends in a great place. Now that I am back in Austin, I am involved with the study abroad program at McCombs. I do whatever I can to encourage other students to partake in a study abroad experience because it was one of the best decisions of my life. If I can help at least one student have an amazing experience like I did, I would consider myself to be successful.
While I'm not traveling as much as possible, I am here at UT studying and working to save up for my next trip! I work for the Gateway Scholars Program within the Longhorn Center for Academic Excellence as a tutor for calculus, economics, and accounting. I love tutoring because I enjoy helping students understand concepts that I may have once had trouble with as well.
Fighting cancer is a great passion of mine because I want to encourage those battling cancer to keep fighting, along with supporting their loved ones through the process. A small act I do to help cancer patients is donate my hair every 2-3 years. My hair goes into making wigs that are then donated to children who have lost their hair during chemotherapy. Cancer is such a troubling sickness that I want to help find a cure for in any way I can, whether that be through donating my hair or biking to Alaska!
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” – Eleanor Roosevelt. This is a quote that I try to live my life by. I am always out looking for new experiences that can help me better myself while also bettering or helping others. My passions are clear and I am always very determined to achieve the goals I set for myself. My greatest dream is to open a branch of HeartGift – an organization that provides open-heart surgery to underprivileged children in foreign countries who would die without it. I’ve been involved in this amazing organization since 2009 and love seeing the transformation of these kids from near death to lively and excited to conquer life.
To sum everything up, I am a junior MPA student with big dreams and the determination to achieve them. Helping others is one of my greatest passions and my friends and family mean the world to me. I want to change the world, because in the end you make a living off of what you receive, but you make a life by what you give.

Why I Ride

I ride for my friends and family that have been diagnosed with cancer. One of my friends, Katie, had a severe case of leukaemia when she was two years old. The medical professionals told Katie and her family that she would not make it through treatment, but she fought every day for two years, conquered the cancer, and has been able to live a normal life ever since. I ride for the happiness survivors receive and the relief their friends and family experience once the loved one is in remission.
I also ride for my father, Grandma Linda Anne, and Grandpa Mike who have all battled and conquered cancer. My grandfather has battled and survived cancer with such poise and strength that he is an inspiration to me and many others. My grandmother is a survivor of breast cancer and is now an advocate for raising hope, awareness, charity, and happiness through her services to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and their endless help to cancer patients. Lastly, I ride for my father, my best friend, my rock, my inspiration. With a threat of his second form of cancer, my father does not stop fighting. He fights for my sister and me and has shown how to be a tough and positive man even in the hardships of life.
I also ride for all those battling with cancer or have a loved one doing so. I have been fortunate enough to be healthy up to this point in my life, but not everyone is as lucky as me. Riding will give me the opportunity to remind those battling with cancer that they are not alone and that they can win the battle. I ride to end the terrifying phone calls with heart-breaking news of cancer for everyone, to end the tears, and to bring out the smiles.