For St. Thomas senior and Colleges Against Cancer President Rahel Lemma, this year’s Relay for Life was bittersweet. Lemma, who has been involved in the event since she was a junior in high school, participated in her last Relay April 22.
“I love helping people, and when I think about kids with cancer who are in the hospital, and they can’t really do much, and they can’t fight back and they’re just doing their best by going to their treatments and whatnot, I just want to be able to help them,” Lemma said.
Relay for Life is an annual event put on by Colleges Against Cancer at St. Thomas in order to raise money for American Cancer Society. The money raised will go toward cancer research, programs for cancer patients and cancer prevention efforts.
For Lemma, Relay for Life is about more than raising money; it means coming together like a family to show support for a common cause.
Lemma believes that an event like this strongly impacts people’s lives, especially those who participate in it just like her.
“When coming together for a cause, it sends a powerful message to the community and to the people and this brings awareness about cancer to the community,” senior Raymond Kindva said. Kindva attended Relay for Life two years ago.
In addition to fundraising and promoting cancer awareness, participants took pictures in a photo booth, competed in a costume contest and made use of a makeup artist. For Lemma, these activities facilitated a connection during the eight hours the group spent in the AARC Fieldhouse between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m.
“You’re just staying up talking with one another and meeting new people and learning their stories and realizing how big this foundation is and connected everyone is through this disease,” Lemma said.
Lemma’s good friend, junior Ngoc Thoa Nguyen, who has been a participant of Relay for Life since she was a first-year student, enjoys the event and the impact it has on people.
“It was a way for me to add the service hours for clubs. However, I found the event very meaningful and decided to come back my sophomore year and this year,” Nguyen said.
Participating in an event they are both passionate about has helped Nguyen and Lemma connect on a deeper level. Nguyen has seen the dedication Lemma puts into the club and the event.
As a senior, Lemma has experienced a lot on campus. She has particularly noticed how most college students don’t know how to lead a healthy lifestyle, which is one of the main reasons she works for the cause.
According to cancer.org, one third of all related cancer deaths are caused by poor nutrition, obesity and the lack of exercise. These reasons equal to the same amount of deaths caused by smoking.
Lemma believes that leading a healthy lifestyle and avoiding smoking will greatly reduce a student’s risk of getting cancer.
“College students don’t typically lead the best lifestyles, so if we can show them how (and) let them know what to avoid, they’ll be safer in the future,” Lemma said.
Lemma expects the Colleges Against Cancer club to continue spreading awareness and knowledge to St. Thomas students on how to lead a healthy lifestyle. As for the annual Relay for Life event, she hopes the St. Thomas community will keep up its support.
“I just want the St. Thomas community to come together every year and to celebrate this amazing tradition,” Lemma said.
Samantha Yang can be reached at yang6578@stthomas.edu.