My name is Stephanie and I'm a fourth year nursing student here at UT Austin (hook 'em)!

Cancer is scary, exhausting, and oftentimes uncertain. I saw how much effort it took for my breast cancer patient to even be able to take deep breaths in, all while still trying to smile around her son and grandson. It wasn’t until they left the room when she finally allowed herself to let her sorrow out and drench herself in tears. Seeing the tight grasp cancer had on her broke my heart. It made me wonder how anyone could go through something like this for weeks, months, and years. But as I spent more time in the hospital room, I was also able to witness another side of her. A side that cancer could never take away: an incredibly kind person who loved being a grandmother more than anything. Above all, she was also undeniably strong and resilient. These people aren’t just breast cancer patients. A leukemia patient. A ___ cancer patient. They’re also someone’s loving grandma, witty dad, favorite coach, or best friend. So, my hope is that with each mile that I ride, I am able to spread awareness of people like her. That although they may not be physically able to ride alongside us, they sure are stronger than we ever could be.

Cancer also affects much more than just the person diagnosed with it. I saw the weight it had put over each person in my life who lost a loved one. I saw the worrying lines form in my mom when my dear grandmother relapsed several times. I also experienced the power it had over me, when my aunt was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer with such sudden force just last semester.

I ride so that one day there would be more questions answered than unanswered. I ride to provide hope for the ones who feel lost and alone. I ride for more research, and because no family should have to worry about money, but be able to freely focus on their loved ones instead. I also ride for the ones who devote their work to improving healthcare, including the nurses and physicians who I worked alongside with at MD Anderson this summer. It is humbling to have a healthy body to ride this crazy ride, and so I choose to use it to ride for those who can’t.

To Alaska and back with love,
Steph