Northwestern University Athletics
NU Athletes Participate In Relay For Life Event
5/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | General
May 27, 2003
Click here for a list of the Relay For Life volunteers!
Download Free Acrobat Reader
by Jeff Treem
EVANSTON, Ill. - Members of the Northwestern University athletic community joined more than 200 others on May 16-17 in the first ever Relay For Life event at Northwestern.
Relay For Life is the signature activity of the American Cancer Society, bringing people together to celebrate the fight against the disease. The overnight event features teams joining together to honor cancer survivors and remember those who have died from the disease.
At 6p.m. Friday, cancer survivors led the opening lap, as members of 24 teams began walking around the turf facility at the Lakeside Fields. Over the next 14 hours, each team had at least one member circling the field in support of the battle against cancer. For one night, a village of tents was created on the Lakeside Fields, and a community fighting cancer was established.
The men's basketball team was the first to arrive, setting up camp before registration officially opened. Coordinator of Basketball Operations John Davidson and administrative assistant Amy Danzer played Yahtzee as they waited for other teams to arrive. Shortly after, head coach Bill Carmody showed up with his two sons, ready for a long night of walking. Jitim Young served as captain of the Relay team, and was joined by teammates Winston Blake, Patrick Towne, Davor Duvancic, Ivan Tolic, Mohamed Hachad and Vedran Vukusic.
Members of the field hockey team also arrived early, helping to set up the event. Suzi Sutton not only served as captain of her relay team, she also served on the Executive Committee of the event and was instrumental in team recruitment and event planning. She enlisted 14 team members to participate in Relay including head coach Marisa Didio, associate head coach Kelly McCollum, and assistant coach Jeanne Shin.
Women's volleyball also had a strong presence at the event. Drew Robertson organized 13 teammates for the cause, with head coach Keylor Chan, assistant coaches Josh Grau and Meggan Kohnen, and athletic trainer Aimee Miltenberger joining them.
Sarah Kwasinski headed up the team representing women's basketball, which included eight players, head coach June Olkowski and assistant coaches Sue Darling -- herself a cancer survivor -- Tricie Johnson and Regina Grennan.
Stephanie Miller led a group of 11 women's soccer players that participated in the event.
In addition to the six teams participating in Relay For Life, several members of the Athletic Department supported the event. Nine members of the football team volunteered at Relay providing security and passing out food to participants. Football team member Ikechuku Ndukwe served as an executive committee member for the event and emceed the Relay.
Members of the men's and women's swimming and diving teams also lent a helping hand. Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities Scott Arey and Assistant Director of Facilities Carrie Forsman were integral in providing the site and staging for the event. SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee) co-sponsored the event, orgainizing volunteers and assisting in preparation. In addition, the athletic training staff provided on site support for participants.
During registration, members of the women's lacrosse team coordinated the "Picture in a Box" activity. This involved taking pictures of participants and allowing them to write a message about their involvement in the fight against cancer. These messages are sent to the participants' local congressmen, urging him/her to support legislation to fight cancer. As you can see, members of the Northwestern athletic department had a role in all parts of Northwestern's Relay For Life.
The event officially began with the opening ceremonies at 6 p.m. Friday. The keynote address was given by Dr. Steven Rosen, The Genevieve E. Teuton Professor of Medicine and the director of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. Dr. Rosen educated participants about the causes of cancer and the progress that is being made in fighting the disease.
Shortly after the event started, teams participated in a contest in which they each decorated a poster sharing a cancer fact that was then displayed along the track. The field hockey team received first place with a poster displaying the dangers of tanning.
At sundown, participants again gathered together to participate in the Luminaria Ceremony. Luminaria are transluscent bags labeled with the names of individuals who have survived cancer or passed away from the disease. The bags lined the walking path, and when the sun set, a candle in each bag was lit. Each name was read aloud as individuals walked silently around the path. For the remainder of the evening the bags lit the path for the relay participants. The bags represent that individuals will never forget the people in their lives that cancer has touched, and the light that shines represents the hope that one day a cure can be found.
Relay For Life is a celebration at heart, and teams certainly partied through the night. Music blared as teams sang, danced and played games. Teams could be seen flying kites, throwing Frisbees, kicking a soccer ball, or playing board games. Three live bands, an a cappella singing group, and a dance troupe entertained participants while they walked. Members of the cross country team could often be seen running around the field to keep their energy up. Other participants were more creative, leap-frogging each other or using cartwheels to liven up the laps.
As night fell and the temperatures dropped, walkers could be seen huddled in blankets and sleeping bags. At 3 a.m., participants were invited up on stage for an open microphone performance that entertained the audience. Relay For Life members walk through the night, regardless of the weather, to honor the fact that cancer victims cannot choose to rid themselves of the disease.
When the sun rose over Lake Michigan in the morning, team members were still rounding the turf field. All of the participants dragged themselves out of their tents and finished the Relay as a group, the same way that it started. At 7:30 a.m. Saturday, tired and weary participants gathered in front of the stage for the closing ceremonies. Loud cheers erupted as the final fundraising total was announced -- the $38,127 raised made Northwestern's Relay one of the most successful college-based events in the country.
Although exhausted from the long hours of walking, participants were full of smiles as they broke down their tents in the morning. The Northwestern Relay was one of more than 3,800 such events across the country that makes Relay For Life the largest not-for-profit fundraising event in America. All proceeds go to support the American Cancer Society, which is an organization that is committed to eliminating cancer through research, education, advocacy, and service. The ACS already has close ties to Northwestern, having provided more than $2 million in research grants to the university over the past two years. In addition, the ACS sponsors many programs in Evanston to support cancer patients including "Reach to Recovery" which partners breast cancer patients with breast cancer survivors and "Man to Man" which provides support for prostate cancer victims. Furthermore, the ACS operates "Road to Recovery", which provides cancer patients with rides to and from treatments.
For those who participated, Northwestern's Relay for life was a memorable and rewarding experience.
"My favorite part was just sharing a moment like that with the people who were there," said Kwasinski, an honorable mention All-Big Ten center on the hardcourt. "It really meant a lot to me to see some many other athletes and people passionate about the same cause and still have smiles on their faces after walking for 14 hours in the cold.
"I think it is important because it definitely helps you put things into perspective," she continued. "There are so many people out there -- not just cancer victims, but family and friends -- who are suffering from this horrific disease, and I think there is too much that I personally take for granted sometimes. While I think that it is awesome that we raised so much money for the American Cancer Society, I think the experience far outweighed the monetary value."
Outweighed it, indeed. For 14 hours on the Lakeside fields -- through a Friday night and into a Saturday morning -- friends and teammates, students and staff, united to make a difference in the fight against cancer.
The above story was written by NU senior Jeff Treem, a four-year manager of the field hockey team and work-study member of the Media Services office who served as the chair for this inaugural Relay For Life event.
