About Me

Profile

About: Hi and welcome to my page!

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to learn more about Texas 4000, our fight, and me! My name is Ashlyn Fogg and I was born in Houston, Texas but raised just north of Austin in Round Rock, Texas! I have an older brother and a younger brother who both love nothing more than to give me a hard time, but I wouldn't have it any other way. My dad was a pilot in the Marine Corps and now flies for Delta Airlines, and my mom was a kindergarten teacher for about 30 years. I look up to both of them immensely and I couldn't have gotten to where I am today without them. In high school I was an officer on my dance team, and dancing is still by far my favorite hobby! I am also a mediocre guitar player and giant lover of music. Here at UT I am a member of Zeta Tau Alpha as well, and I love hanging out with my sorority sisters in my free time. I love to travel and go on adventures even if it's just around Austin, which is one of the many reasons I decided to join Texas 4000. I am a biology major with a psychology minor and I am on the pre-medicine track. Currently, my main areas of interest are surgery and oncology, but I change my mind just about every other hour. Ever since I was little I have had a passion for helping others and I can't wait to be a doctor one day so I can spend the rest of my life doing just that. I am so thankful for the opportunity that Texas 4000 has given me to be apart of something bigger than myself, and I am so thankful to you for supporting my journey and the fight against cancer!

Why I Ride

I first heard of Texas 4000 from a sorority sister my freshman year of college and to put it plainly, I thought she was insane. Riding a bike from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska seems all but impossible and just about as daunting as it could be. However, the more I learned about Texas 4000 the more I wanted to be apart of the team.

At the beginning of my 8th grade year, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. At this point in time I was 13 years old and every other person that I had heard of that had cancer had died, including both of my mothers parents, my grandparents. I was faced with the possibility that I could lose my mom. As the year went on and I entered high school, I watched my mom receive several rounds of chemo and radiation, lose her hair, gain giant burns across her body, and grow weak from her treatments. However, I also watched as she never lost hope, as she fought for her life and the chance to be in mine, and as she found a way to see the best side of her situation. She taught me the true value of perseverance and that the tinniest shred of hope can take you wherever you want to go. In the end, I got lucky. My mom has been cancer free for over 5 years now. I got to keep my mom, but not everyone gets to keep their loved one in the end. Ten million people die from cancer every year. If my mom can beat cancer with a smile on her face, then I can ride a bike across the country because it means that there is a possibility that one more family won't have to go through what my family went through, and that one more family could get to keep their loved one.

Since my mom's diagnosis I have watched several of my friend's parents and family friends get diagnosed with cancer as well. Cancer is a disease that has entirely too much power over us and Texas 4000 is a way to regain some of that power. It allows us to take a stand against cancer, support the families of those with diagnoses and spread awareness. Since joining Texas 4000 I have had the pleasure of getting to hear my teammates stories as well, and I am reminded everyday of why I chose to ride.

I ride for my mom, for my teammates, and for the chance of a future without cancer. Thank you for taking the time to read my story.

Forever yours in the fight,

Ashlyn