Profile

About: Hey y’all, my name is Eve, and I’m a third year Biology and Plan II major with a History minor. I was born and raised in Plano, TX.
When I’m not training or hitting the books, I love to explore coffee shops across Austin and watch the sunset at Auditorium Shores. You can also find me curled up on the couch with a good book and a cup of tea while enjoying the beautiful sights and sounds of West Campus.
In addition to taking part in Texas 4000, I love staying involved in the UT and Austin community. I work as a peer mentor in the FRI Biobricks lab, and I give campus tours to high school students as a member of Texas Tour Guides! I also volunteer as a medical scribe at the Volunteer Healthcare Clinic.

Why I Ride

I ride for Poppy, my maternal grandfather who passed away in March 2021 after a long battle with leukemia. Poppy made the world a place worth exploring. When I was young, I’d venture down to Austin for a week of what we called “Poppy’s Camp.” We’d spend days hiking, doing arts and crafts, and learning about the world. Poppy would hide arrowheads in the hills behind the house for us to find and leave no doubt in our minds that we’d just made an astounding archaeological discovery.
Poppy encouraged my curiosity as a child and continues to impact my learning experience to this day. He was a member of one of the first ever Plan II classes at UT and encouraged me to apply to the program. Poppy loved to explore and discuss a wide variety of topics ranging from music to history to politics, and I inherited my passion for interdisciplinary thought from him.
After a long and courageous battle with leukemia, Poppy passed away in March 2021 at a time when the pandemic made it difficult for our family to gather and say goodbye. Poppy’s fight against cancer and the principles that he upheld during his lifetime are why I ride and what inspires me to uphold the same set of values in my own life.
In addition to riding for Poppy, I also ride for the Ashkenazi Jewish community as well as the Jewish community as a whole. Whereas the general population experiences mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes at a rate of 1 in 4000, Ashkenazi Jews experience a rate of 1 in 40. These mutations are highly heritable and can greatly increase the risk of ovarian and breast cancer. Despite this high mutation rate, the Jewish community proves time and time again that overcoming obstacles as a community only makes us stronger. This principle of strength in community inspires me every day and is something that I hope to carry with me throughout our ride.