Members of the Undergraduate Communication Association (UCA) at USG will test their fundraising skills (and their physical endurance!) as they participate in the 5th Annual Walk for Wishes alongside former “wish” recipient, and classmate, Jenny Vasquez, on April 14th at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP). The group of UMCP Communication students at USG, who’ve adopted the moniker “Team Jenny,” are striving to raise $1,000 for the Make a Wish Foundation, an organization dedicated to enriching the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions through its wish-granting work.
Walk to Remember
Diagnosed with cancer at age 16, Jenny Vasquez, and her family were provided with a trip to Rome and Milan by the Make a Wish Foundation in 2006. When she learned of the foundation’s upcoming event in Maryland, Vasquez knew this was her chance to give back to a cause that inspired her to embrace her strength as a cancer survivor.
“I knew right away that I wanted to become a fundraiser and give back to this amazing organization, which touched my life so incredibly, said Vasquez who serves as Director of Social Media for the UCA. “But I never expected my colleagues and classmates to jump in whole-heartedly – it means so much to me,” she said of the UCA leadership team who decided to make the Walk an organizational initiative.
“The Walk for Wishes is a great chance for UCA to get involved in our community and to practice some of the outreach skills we are developing as communication students, said Autaum Hollinger, President, UCA. But above all else, I have to say, it’s about supporting Jenny.”
From Medical Imaging to Broadcast Journalism
Before being diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma as a junior in high school, Jenny and her family planned for her to attend a traditional 4-year institution. The demands of treatment and medical expenses derailed Jenny’s plan and she enrolled at Frederick Community College to complete her first 60 credits.
Moved by the experience of her treatment, she first declared her major as Nuclear Medicine, jumping into a host of scientific courses and compelting an internship at Georgetown University Hospital. Unexpectedly, she discovered that working with cancer patients was not her calling, but another path was soon-to-be discovered. During the holiday season, local news stations visited the hospital to cover their annual toy drive. Jenny was excited by the lights and cameras, the interviews, and the journalist’s ability to spread the word of the hospital’s good-doing.
“Something clicked – that not all news is about bad things happening in the world. There is an opportunity to advance great causes and talk about positive things,” said Vasquez who enrolled in the UMCP Communication program at USG in Fall 2011.
Jenny’s hard work and determination has earned her the coveted full-tuition and fees Camille & Clifford Kendall Endowed Scholarship while completing her program at USG, and she plans to begin a career in broadcast journalism after she graduates in December 2012.
“This program at USG has been an amazing fit for me – the curriculum is engaging, my professors and classmates are so supportive, and I have been able to achieve what didn’t feel possible just a few years ago,” she said.
Team Jenny welcomes participation from the entire USG community. The group can be reached for donations or registration on their team webpage at www.midatlantic-community.org/UCA4TeamJenny