By Theresa Schmidt, Catholic Student Center Intern-in-Service (2011-2012)
We’ve always known that our students at the Catholic Student Center are exceptional, but it’s still amazing to hear their summer goals and plans when most of us are thinking about lounging in the pool or being homework-free for three months. Case in point: CSC Sophomore Alex Dressler, who is preparing for the ride of his life this summer with the Ulman Cancer Fund’s 4K for Cancer, a 70 day bike ride from Baltimore, Maryland to San Francisco, California on May 26-Aug. 6. Alex says, “I heard about the 4k through a mutual friend who participated last summer and said it was a life changing experience. I have been training daily by riding and running to get in shape, and I have been praying and challenging myself daily to stay emotionally strong because I know that this will be a very trying period.” ‘Trying’ is an understatement: Alex and his group of nearly 30 college students from across the country will ride 60 to 110 miles a day for about nine hours a day, with weekly stops to volunteer in cancer hospitals along the journey. Alex anticipates these stops will provide as much rest for the soul as the body: “I personally think that [volunteering in hospitals] will be the most fulfilling part of the trip, [for] the lives that I can affect along the way as well as the change that they can impart on me with their perseverance.”
For Alex, cancer research is a cause that’s very personal: “The most exciting aspect of the experience for me is that fact that I will be able to represent those people who have had to face this illness. This is something that is close to my heart as my Grandpa Clark died of leukemia when I was in eighth grade and I hope to be either a doctor or participate in cancer research when I am older.”
A double major in mathematics and biochemistry, Alex has felt called to medicine since high school: “I went to a Catholic high school, and I always remember one lecture in which they talked about a Jesuit who was a scientist and used theories to show that God’s kingdom and science can clearly blend together. I always thought that that was sort of a calling for me to pursue science. I just think it is amazing how everything seems so chaotic all the time, but when you look closely underneath the surface of a problem or a phenomenon, everything is very carefully ordered and precise. That is what is truly inspiring about studying science for me, because it reveals God to me in everything.”
The road will not be easy, neither metaphorically with pursuing a degree in medicine or literally with the bike ride. Alex explains, “Both the medical field and this bike ride will be two of the most challenging things that I have ever done in my entire life. I think that having a strong trust in God that everything will work out and trusting that He has a path for me is very important. There will be days on the bike ride where I will want to quit, I know that for sure, but having the determination and the trust in God, I believe that I will be able to get through both the bike ride as well as medical school and become a strongly skilled doctor someday.”
Alex’s strong passion and conviction for the cause will help ease his journey. “This is a great cause because it is both a fundraiser and a tribute for anyone who one knows that has been affected by cancer. Before we are allowed to go on the bike ride, we are asked to raise a minimum of $4,500* per rider. Throughout the trip, we will write the names of those people who have been affected by cancer on the back of our legs as a dedication for a part of the ride for that person. If any of the donors have a person for whom they would like to dedicate a part of the ride, then I would love to support them, or even if someone cannot donate to the cause and they would like to dedicate a certain portion of the ride to someone, I would love to do that as well. I just want to do all I can for the people who are struggling with this disease.”
Our thoughts and prayers will be with Alex this summer as he embarks on this incredible journey.
For more information about Alex’s ride or to help him reach his goal, visit http://4kforcancer.org/profiles/alex-dressler/. Donations are due by May 10.
*As of 4/15/2012, Alex is halfway to his goal with a total of $2,005 raised.
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