Scholar Stories
Our scholarship recipients are insightful and inspiring. Read their award-winning essays to learn more about them and their individual journey.
Scholarships Awarded
million awarded
childhood cancer recipients
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Life is often unpredictable. It is easy to get caught up in wondering why something happened, b…
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Before my diagnosis, I was living a carefree life that was a bit self centered. Now, after th…
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Maybe I wanted to be viewed as more than the boy, but in neglecting him, I made myself less tha…
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I have grown to be resilient, empathetic, and knowledgeable through my journey with cancer. I a…
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Surviving cancer has made me grateful for life's highs-and even its lows. Simply being alive is…
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I simply cannot imagine what my life would be like now, seeing as I've spent so long as a survi…
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I look forward to being able to fully immerse myself in my passions, and find and create the su…
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NCCS will help me positively impact the struggling community of cancer warriors by allowing me …
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Battling cancer at age 13 produced in me unusual endurance and perseverance to face physical an…
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Cancer has allowed me to help others impacted by childhood cancer through fundraising, advocacy…
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This experience has taught me to stop and smell the roses, to be an active participant instead …
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I also rediscovered an interest I had lost since my diagnosis: a passion for medicine, and the …
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The people I have met along this path have shown me what kindness, love, and generosity for oth…
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While having cancer may not steer my career path today, the experience as a whole gifted me wit…
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I survived for a purpose...I choose to stay focused on aligning my gifts of kindness, compassio…
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Survivorship to me is living your own truth. Living your life without any model, actor, or tv s…
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My diagnosis does not define who I am, but it has changed my outlook on life and turned me into…
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Cancer, paradoxically, strengthened a young man in love with life who aspires to conquer challe…
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I cannot say what my life would be like now if I had not battled cancer, but I can certainly sa…
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I want to show other kids battling cancer they can still live life to the fullest and be normal…
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Looking back, my experiences with childhood cancer have taught me to always be inclusive and em…
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I know from experience my goals and dreams can change based on life's surprises. As long as I p…
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Due to cancer, I gained closer bonds with my family and friends, I gained a love for leadership…
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The tragedy that some viewed as catastrophic, I saw as a basis for my purpose in life.
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As I look towards the future, the impact that cancer left on me will forever fuel my motivation…
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I am on a new path now, healthy, and surrounded by new friends, some old friends, and new exper…
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My experiences and my family's experiences with my cancer treatment have inspired me to seek a …
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But now I have an opportunity to not only keep growing as a student and an engineer but as a pe…
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My journey as a survivor has exposed me to the importance of understanding not only the broken …
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Because of my difficult experience, and the people that helped me through my illness, my ultima…
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When I doubted whether I could be stronger than this disease, the voice would cry out, "Fight i…
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Each hole now represents what my successful cancer treatment afforded me - the opportunity to a…
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My disease was nothing but a reminder that there is no fear as long as you don't show it.
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We cannot always control the obstacles in our path, but we can control the new direction we tak…
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Surviving cancer has changed the goals I have for my education and my future career. More impor…
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From accepting seemingly incandescent burns from vaccines to making friends with the looming po…
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My encounter with cancer ceased to be a negative experience as soon as I shifted my perspective…
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If there is anything cancer has taught me, it is that our purpose here on earth is bigger than …
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Cancer helped me to see that I want to help people who are like me, and I have created my caree…
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I don't want to see others held back by their health challenges either. I can use my health set…
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This world can take you, and any potential legacy, without any warning. What matters is how you…
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Forever grateful for the endless support I received, I made it my mission to reciprocate it by …
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As many challenges come my way, I've seemed to create an increasingly picturesque mosaic throug…
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In the future, I want to help anyone who receives a cancer diagnosis. I didn't let cancer stop …
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The perspective cancer gave me is life is wonderful, and to care for others, because we aren't …
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"Perspective" is a word always present in my home. We see things differently than most. We don'…
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I have been forever changed, and I appreciate the smallest triumphs because of these overwhelmi…
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I realize that I matured through my treatment and as I moved through survivorship. My eyes were…
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"I want to use my skills with art to make the world a better place. To inspire good and allow p…
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I want to teach others how to believe in conquering "the impossible," how to move past their li…
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At center court seeing the faces of all of those I know that have been touched by cancer chanti…
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I will do all that is in my power to help those that now suffer from cancer. If I can keep one …
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Survivorship means never forgetting, forever being grateful, and giving back to those in need.<…
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As a survivor myself, I see my job is to be an ambassador for those who can't speak to reach mo…
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For me survivorship means living my life to the fullest unapologetically. Other children like C…
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No matter where I am, I think back to that Wednesday, and it reminds me of my purpose each and …
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So, what does survivorship mean to me? It is invaluable. Through my solitude I learned more abo…
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But survivorship is acknowledging the scars and pain cancer caused me, and then making a daily …
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Being a survivor does not mean that you have beat cancer; being a survivor means that you live …
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Being a survivor is finding the joy in the smell of rain on the pavement, the peace in the dram…
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This is what survivorship means to me; all of the lessons that cancer has taught me so that I c…
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Survivorship means I get a first chance at seeing something that I was missing before.
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The mindset around mental health in our society must adapt, so that we can help those who need …
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Survivorship is not only the way one gets through their cancer, but also the way they help othe…
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The true weight of survivorship is defined by the "how" and "what," of the journey. How did you…
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Survivorship is moving past staying alive and truly living...Survivorship is appreciating the w…
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There is no one meaning to "Survivorship" in the process of living through cancer. It is a flui…
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The truth is that pain, hurt and fear all have their place in survivorship as much as joy, fun …
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From the mountain of cancer I hope to remember my perseverance, the people who helped me on the…
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Survivorship allows me appreciate the storms in my life and to be even more thankful for the ra…
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I realized that I needed to separate my mind from my body. If I kept treating the two as one, I…
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Because of the strengths that surviving cancer gave me, my freshman year was the greatest year …
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Surviving cancer means to me that you have stood up to the biggest bully on the block and you w…
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Survivorship is an act of endurance-- no matter what the final outcome may be. I resolutely bel…
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Survivorship is fighting through something so terrible and being able to make an impact on othe…
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Survivorship means that you get to push the restart button on your life so that you can experie…
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As a survivor, I have refused to allow cancer to keep me from prospering in my young adult life…
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"Cancer taught me that nothing in life, even survivorship and cancer, are permanent."
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"If I had never gone through the experience of battling leukemia, I would have never been given…
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"The responsibility of survivorship is a sense of selflessness and a sense of purpose."
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"So if you ask me 'What does survivorship mean to you?'… it means living and sharing! It mean…
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"Survivorship may mean different things depending on who you ask, but I think what’s really i…
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"Survivorship is a new life. New life is not something to take for granted."
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"I survived, and that means I now have the potential to not only live, but to truly thrive. Iâ€â€¦
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"Looking back on my experiences, I feel that I have been given a unique opportunity to help kid…
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"Survivorship is the memory of hunger. The hunger for life, for one more day, one more smile, o…
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"If it weren’t for others helping me conquer my battle with leukemia when I was a young child…
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"Survivorship should not be based on living or dying. Survivorship should be based on how hard …
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"I am embracing my life whole-heartedly, and chasing my survivorship with both hands, holding o…
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"While it is true that not all cancer patients overcome the disease, it is true that we are all…
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"Now my idea of survivorship is to take the experiences developed during my cancer battle and t…
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"Cancer survivorship has blessed me in many ways. I have the ability to enjoy the little things…
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"Survivorship means I am a warrior; I am courageous; I am strong; I am a lionheart."
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"The moment I became a survivor, I took the initiative to heal, and educate myself about cancer…
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"Life is too short to sit around waiting, and if I can inspire others with my story to take lif…
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"Survivorship means living and fighting every day for myself, those who have lost the fight, an…
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"I realized that this was what survivorship meant: working for not only your survival and quali…
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"Surviving cancer taught me that I am stronger and able to accomplish much more than I realize.…
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"Fate whispers to the warrior, 'You cannot withstand the storm,' and the warrior whispers back,…
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"I may not have many memories of being in the hospital, but I do deserve the title 'cancer surv…
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"Survivorship to me is using my story to inspire others, remembering that my courage is bigger …
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"Survivorship means living every single day with the primary outlook of gratitude."
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"My undying adventure in a hospital bed has given me a critical life lesson: it is not how long…
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"Having been the recipient of tremendous compassion and being touched by numerous incredible fo…
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"My entire world view today is directly due to the personal growth I experienced throughout tre…
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"I am not a survivor just because the cancer is no longer visible on computer images; I am a su…
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"What does survivorship really mean to me? It means a second chance at life."
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"To be a survivor means so much more than surviving the battle and claiming victory. "
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"To me survivorship means that you have weathered a storm and come out a different person. Some…
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"Survivorship means that I will live in the moment, be confident in my contribution and intenti…
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"Currently, I am living as a survivor which I now understand is an immense gift not to be taken…
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"Survival is not simply merely existing , it is living your life every day fully and completely…
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"Survivorship is a privilege, and I am grateful every single day for how lucky I am. I am proud…
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"Survivorship is much more than a word that explains my success, it embodies the journey that I…
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"Survivorship is something that you earn, whether it be during or after your experience."
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"Life is far too fragile to waste by pursuing comfort and hunting safety"
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"This is the calling of survivorship. It is embracing your experience to inspire others to keep…
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"Survivorship means always keeping courage close to your heart and to show others how it is pos…
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"You can either focus on the disease, the sickness, and the possibility of dying or you can rea…
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"Survivorship is grasping onto your life with clenched hands, not allowing one more second to b…
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"I have learned to be resilient in the face of challenges that come my way."
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"Being a survivor... has taught me what is important, and showed me how vital it is to live eve…
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"To me, its learning that survivorship is not a title but rather a state of being."
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"Life is a fragile thing, and we never know the moment it will end, but I want to live all of t…
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"Someday, I hope I will be the one that allows a patient and their family to breathe a sigh of …
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"Cancer does not define me, but it has contributed tremendously to the person that I am today."…
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"My cancer experience is essential to me; it has taught me that the light at the end of the tun…
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"I had cancer. This fact alone does not define me. However, it is an important part of my journ…
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"Today I am cancer-free, empowered by the lessons I learned, and thankful for my life."
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"It is much more freeing to put the disease out in the open instead or trying to forget it."
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"The most important thing we can do as a cancer survivor is share our experience."
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"I don't think I'll ever stop trying to make an impact or changes for the better. This is what …