About Me

Profile

About: Hey everyone! My name is Patrick Golden, and I am a sophomore from Houston, Texas double majoring in Government & Religious Studies in the Liberal Arts Honors Program here at UT!

Coming from a family full of Aggies in Houston, I was viewed as the “problem child” for choosing to pursue an education at a university that I am supposed to hate with every inch of my soul. But here I am in Austin, trying to make a positive impact and name for myself on a campus full of so many different people from various walks of life. In high school, I dedicated my life to the Bellaire Yearbook Staff as a sports editor and later as an editor-in-chief. I learned that there is no greater feeling in the world than getting to watch a project such as this come from start to finish, and I met some of my best friends for life on this staff of which I’ll cherish the memories that I made with them forever.

I am very interested in politics and religion and how they relate to one another. In fact, I got to serve as a nonvoting delegate to the 2014 Global Young People’s Convocation and Legislative Assembly for the United Methodist Church in the Philippines where I witnessed 350 youth and young adults discuss and debate various church policy/theological issues underneath Robert’s Rules of Order. It was one of the most life changing experiences of my life. So life changing that after I graduate, I plan on either heading into ministry, public service, or the non-profit world to further pursue my love of these two subjects.

In addition to Texas 4000, I served as an Orientation Advisor, was a member of LAH's Foot in the Door acting troupe, and I am a member of UT's Texas Blazers service group. I am an avid basketball enthusiast that loves shooting wide-open three pointers and watching the Houston Rockets dominate the Western Conference. I also love listening to music, especially if it involves John Mayer, and I love finding new artists to listen to on Spotify. I am a huge comedy fan, and I can quote a large majority of Louis CK and Dave Chappelle stand-up bits verbatim. My take is that life isn't going to be enjoyable for you if you can't find some sense of humor in it. Therefore, it's imperative that we take the time to laugh a little.

Why I Ride

I ride for my mom. She managed to kick breast cancer in the butt while raising two middle school aged kids as a single divorced parent in the midst of the arduous process of learning how to become a school principal at the exact same time. She even ran the Houston Half-Marathon smack dab in the middle of chemotherapy. I am still inspired by her strength and courage to not only fight the long and hard battle against this terrible disease, but of how she still maintained a life of normalcy throughout the entire process as an educator, runner, and most importantly, a mom that loved me. I hope that I might be able to ride as hard for the rest of the world inflicted with cancer as my mom “rode” for my brother and me when she herself had cancer.

I also ride for my grandfather,Edward (Eddie) Anthony Golden, who passed away from kidney cancer in the summer of 1987, for my granddad Gerald Syler, a recent survivor of prostate cancer, and my Uncle Glenn, another survivor of prostate cancer. All three of these men are extremely dedicated husbands and fathers who fought off their disease valiantly.

Most importantly, I ride for all of those who don't have someone to ride for them. When it comes to a horrible disease such as cancer, no one is ever "free" or "safe," so it is crucial that we make sure that someone fighting it doesn't have to fight it alone.

Simply put, cancer sucks, and I am going to do whatever it takes to make sure that I fight against this monster with all of the support I can get.

I ride for you.