Profile

About: Hi everyone, my name is Tishya and I'm from Plano, TX. I am very fortunate to have grown up with incredibly supportive parents and younger sister. At UT, I am a Biochemistry major in the Polymathic Scholars honors program, with a minor in Healthcare Industry Reform and Innovation. In Texas 4000, I serve as Volunteer Chair. It has been incredibly rewarding to help connect Texas 4000 to the Austin community, and I am proud to have served my team in this way.

Outside of classes and Texas 4000, I am a member of the Longhorn Emergency Medical Services and the Women's Resource Agency at UT. During my visits to India growing up, I watched my grandpa who is a doctor treat patients— many times free of cost. Because of this experience, I have grown to be incredibly passionate about affordable and accessible healthcare. I work to address these issues through the organizations I am a part of.

I love taking on new challenges, and a big way I do this is through physical activity. I played basketball throughout high school and was on the cross country team. In college, I enjoy running and lifting. I go hiking with my family often, and my biggest accomplishment so far is hiking the four day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru. Another big goal of mine is to eventually hike every national park in the United States (4 down, 59 to go!).

Outside of staying active, I love to read historical fiction, visit coffee shops, and watch Netflix (currently re-watching Grey's Anatomy). I am also a huge Dallas Mavs fan, and I have quite the merch collection to prove it :).

Why I Ride

My grandma was the most lively and vivacious person that I have ever known. She had the ability to make friends with anybody and everybody. She loved talking with others, and her personality could fill a room. She loved me and my sister immensely.

At fifty-nine years old, she was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, given one year to live. This aggressive, terminal brain cancer ate away at my grandma. Previously walking for miles every day, she could now barely climb a flight of stairs. Previously talking nonstop to her family, her friends, and anyone she met, she could now barely string together a coherent sentence. This cruel cancer took away my grandma’s humanity— her ability to speak, to write, to understand. It reduced her to a fraction of who she was before.

I have heard too many similar stories of cancer taking away not only a person’s body, but their humanity and will to live. As a part of Texas 4000, I want to prove once and for all that cancer cannot defeat our spirits. There is too much hope, too many fighting spirits, for cancer to win. During my time in Texas 4000, I hope to inspire and be inspired by my fellow teammates, riding not only for my grandma, but for my teammates and their loved ones who have been touched by cancer. By having the resilience and physical endurance to complete the bike ride, I will show cancer that it cannot defeat me, nor my teammates. We will show cancer that we are willing to fight for as long as it takes to defeat it.

There are ways for people to reduce their risk of cancer, and I believe everyone should be aware of this knowledge, which is another reason I joined. T4K’s emphasis on spreading knowledge to prevent and detect cancer truly resonates with me. If I can spread even a little bit of knowledge— prevent just one person from developing cancer— my journey with T4K will have been worth it. I love teaching and interacting with people, and giving presentations to communities is something I’m excited for during the ride.

I will ride my bike to Alaska to support my teammates who have been affected by cancer. I will ride my bike to share knowledge about ways to prevent cancer and learn about how different communities have been impacted by cancer. I will ride my bike to raise money for cancer treatment. I will ride my bike to show that cancer cannot take our spirits. We will fight until cancer is a killer no more.

To Alaska and back,
Tishya

P.S. I am extremely excited and fortunate to embark on this journey with Texas 4000. I can think of nothing more rewarding than spreading hope and knowledge in the fight against cancer among a group of strong, passionate individuals. Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my page, and please contact me at 469-816-4546 or tishya.vadavala@gmail.com if there is someone you would like me to ride for.