Profile

About: Hi, and thanks for stopping by my page!

I’m Mia and I’m a sophomore biochemistry major and social work minor here at UT. I was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, but I’ve been in Austin as long as I can remember and it’s a place I’m very happy to call home. I’m currently on the pre-med track, and I spend a lot of my time doing independent research and being a peer mentor in the Virtual Drug Screening research stream as part of the FRI program here on campus. I’m also a passionate member of Longhorn EMS, and you can spot me providing volunteer first aid at sports events around Austin on the weekends (if you see me say hi!).

In my free-time, you’re most likely to find me going on a jog in Pease Park, skateboarding, playing guitar in my room, or stalking down the gluten-free aisle at Target (yay celiac disease). I love mangos, the color green, and I do a great monkey impression. I am incredibly excited to be on this journey with Texas 4000, and I’m so grateful for all the support I’ve gotten from my friends, family, and all the other wonderful people in my life.

Why I Ride

I count my blessings as an incredibly lucky person in regards to cancer. I have had the good fortune to never have had any family members or friends diagnosed with any form of cancer in my lifetime, and I am lucky with every passing day where that remains true. However, cancer is so pervasive that the lucky individuals that haven’t been touched by the disease are a minority. Although I don’t have intimate personal knowledge of cancer, I have had a glimpse into the ruthless reality of the disease through my work as an EMT, and that experience is a huge driving factor in my decision to join Texas 4000.

I worked as a non-emergency part-time EMT for a year and a half, primarily doing hospital and facility transfers for chronically ill patients - many of whom had a diagnosis of cancer. I became intimate with radiation appointments, surgery recovery, and rehabilitation, and was able to hear countless peoples’ personal stories of their fights with cancer. I heard stories of end-stage cancer taking lives in the span of mere weeks, and stories of remission celebrations interrupted all too soon by relapse. I heard stories of parents mourning time lost with children, grandparents not being able to meet their grandchildren. I heard stories of families mourning the loss of their loved ones, even as they were still alive. Stories of fighting, and sometimes stories of having to give up the fight. I am incredibly grateful to the knowledge, stories, and advice given to me by these patients, and I ride with the best interests of them and their families in my heart.

I ride with faith in cancer research of so many different forms, and with hope for a future where access to care and quality of treatment is not limited by economic stratification, geographic location, and personal background.