I will never forget January 30, 2012, not because that day was my oldest sister’s eighteenth birthday, but because it was the day that I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, in my left leg, forever changing my life. I was seven years old and in the second grade. I enjoyed school, spending time with family and friends, hiking and camping, being a cub scout, and playing baseball, soccer and basketball. Instantly, my life changed. Instead of being a typical seven-year-old, I was a pediatric cancer patient battling an aggressive form of cancer. I did not know that this experience would have a profound impact on my life.

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My cancer journey taught me to be resilient, to have faith in God, and to be compassionate toward others. Soon after my diagnosis, my care was transferred from my home in Connecticut to the Jimmy Fund Clinic at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children’s Hospital. My treatment consisted of a highly toxic regimen of chemotherapy over an eight-month period and a complicated limb salvage surgery that lasted almost 16 hours. Once treatment was over, it took me more than one year to walk again. I missed almost a year of school because I was too sick to learn from home-bound tutoring.

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I never gave up. I prayed to God for strength and courage. While I was by nature kind and caring, I learned to be truly compassionate, especially to other children whom I befriended during my in-patient hospital stays, often listening and talking with them, playing games, and encouraging them to be positive.

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I learned invaluable life lessons from my cancer journey. I learned that life is a gift that should never be taken for granted. I am extremely grateful that I defeated cancer. Some of my friends were not so fortunate. I also learned that sometimes we have to accept things that we cannot change. After my treatment ended, I spent significant time with my teachers and tutors learning about missed school work. Because of my leg surgery, I could no longer play contact sports such as baseball, soccer, and basketball; sports I loved to play. Instead, I learned to play golf, becoming a top player on my high school team.

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My cancer journey gave meaning and purpose to my life, including a strong commitment of service to others. While in high school, I provided additional support to my parents in caring for my grandmother who lived with us while she was under hospice care before she passed away. I served my school district as the student representative to my town's board of education, was president of my sophomore class, and was a member of student leaders and the student advisory council all four years of high school. While at Northeastern, I have been a Resident Assistant, N.U.in Alumni Ambassador, and Lead Mentor for the Roxbury Robotics Club.

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Over the past twelve years, I have raised awareness for pediatric cancer as an ambassador and spokesperson for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, provided support to children undergoing treatment for osteosarcoma as a certified peer visitor for Make It Better (MIB) Agents, and raised money for the American Cancer Society as a survivor, spokesperson, and volunteer at numerous Relays for Life. I also have volunteered at my church and in my community.

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Despite having a profound impact on my life, cancer taught me valuable life lessons and morals. It taught me to be resilient. It taught me to have strength, courage, and faith in God in the face of adversity. It taught me to be kind, caring, and compassionate. It taught me to give selflessly to others. Most of all, it taught me to be me!