Hello! Soccer has significantly helped me with balancing my emotional well-being and all other life commitments. I am a childhood cancer survivor of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and from this came a lot of anxiety, so much so I attended counseling. My counselor suggested a sport to my parents and when I was medically cleared, I joined soccer. I immediately fell in love and knew right away this was the outlet I needed for all the anxiety and fear I was dealing with. Having cancer, I felt and saw a lot of truly hard things that no child should see. Having to watch families be broken and lose children to this horrible disease was extremely hard. However, I learned the value of life and that each day is not guaranteed. This made me stronger and helped me realize I can do hard things; I can make goals and meet them. If I can beat cancer, I can do anything. I started playing soccer at Harbor Premier and loved being competitive, tough and having a team to be part of. Cancer is isolating and when you are immunocompromised you are in isolation to reduce exposure to outside germs. So being part of a team and having that community around me, was important and meant the world to me. I felt like I belonged somewhere, had purpose and wanted to show myself and other how strong I was. I quickly realized playing soccer that I started later than most my age and because of this I pushed myself every day and practiced in my yard almost daily to improve. My hard work paid off and I was soon on the top Harbor Premier team. This outlet had become such an important piece of my life that I wanted more. I did a try out for the Washington Premier Elite Club National Team and secured a spot on this team which has a lot of travel and opens a lot of doors to opportunities. My hard work also paid off in High School where I felt extremely successful. I received numerous awards and some of my highest include being awarded 1st Team All-South Sound Conference for two years, 2nd Team WSSCA All-State Forward for two years, numerous Athlete of the Week nominations with the News Tribune and invited as the student-athlete representative at my school's sportsmanship summits. My hard work paid off and I was offered, accepted and committed to play NCAA Division 3 soccer at Linfield University starting the fall of 2025 and I am beyond excited that my hard work paid off. As much as these accomplishments mean a lot to me, my biggest one is being a Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Patient Ambassador. This opportunity has given me so many opportunities to volunteer in my community and bring awareness and funding to childhood cancer. I have loved helping other families going through similar hardships as me. Regarding the world of male dominance in sports, I feel I am STRONGER as not many males can say they are a cancer survivor, overcame numerous side effects and have been offered to play collegiate soccer. Women are just as strong as men and my parents have always said that and focused on watching women's soccer in our home. I hope that one day women are celebrated the same as men for their sports accomplishments. In the time being I will do my part showing the world how strong I am as a female athlete. Hailey Shride https://www.marybridge.org/blog/haileys-impactful-cancer-experience/

Star light star bright help me get through the night. I don’t think anything can prepare you for hoping and praying to live to see the next day. When I was younger, I was told I had cancer, and I could tell that was a scary word by everyone’s reactions. I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and was thrown into a new whirlwind of a life. My journey was almost three years of treatment, and I am still followed by the survivorship clinic and will be until the age of 26. What I learned from that chapter in my life is that I am strong, brave and a fighter. It helped me understand that life is fragile, and we aren’t guaranteed each day. I learned compassion, kindness and understanding of others. It’s hard to explain, but life is different when you have a near death experience, you appreciate things, see beauty in nature and understand what is or isn’t important. You also get endless love and support from family, friends, neighbors, nurses, doctors, child life specialists, cancer camp counselors, coaches and the lists go on. I am proud of my battle wound scars and thankful to look forward to a beautiful future. While going through cancer treatment I wanted to play soccer but had to wait until medically cleared. Once cleared I worked daily to improve and made it to the Washington Premier Elite Club National Level team. This is an accomplishment I am extremely proud of, and I have been recruited to play NCAA Division 3 soccer at Linfield University while pursuing my degree. My goal is to help other children and families during hardships as I have personal experience and can understand what they are experiencing. I am an official Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital Patient Ambassador. This role has allowed me to help my community and other children and families enduring hardships via cancer or other medical issues. I have given speeches about my experience with cancer, attended numerous fundraisers and worked directly with a family in my community whose child was diagnosed with the same cancer as I was. These volunteer experiences vary widely, and examples include being a greeter for the Mary Bridge festival of trees, throwing the first pitch at the Rainer’s Game etc. Bringing awareness to childhood cancer and helping raise funds is a significant part of my role. In addition, my family and I developed a picture and rhyming book for the children's oncology clinic for families to reference and provide support. If I received this scholarship, it would greatly help me attend Linfield University and work towards my degree in psychology as I plan on helping families in hardships. Being a patient ambassador has given me the experience of knowing that helping others is my passion and calling. I want to be able to show others that there is hope and your dreams still can come true despite devastating challenges. https://www.marybridge.org/blog/haileys-impactful-cancer-experience/

Star light star bright help me get through the night. I don’t think anything can prepare you for hoping and praying to live to see the next day. When I was younger, I was told I had cancer, and I could tell that was a scary word by everyone’s reactions. I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and was thrown into a new whirlwind of a life. I learned new words like surgery, ports, chemo, intrathecal chemo, sleepy medicine, steroids, antibiotics, blood, and platelet transfusions. My journey was almost three years of treatment, and I am still followed by the survivorship clinic and will be until the age of 26. What I learned from that chapter in my life is that I am strong, brave and a fighter. It helped me understand that life is fragile, and we aren’t guaranteed each day. I learned compassion, kindness and understanding of others. It’s hard to explain, but life is different when you have a near death experience, you appreciate things, see beauty in nature and understand what is or isn’t important. You also get endless love and support from family, friends, neighbors, nurses, doctors, child life specialists, cancer camp counselors, coaches and the lists go on. I am proud of my battle wound scars and thankful to look forward to a beautiful future. While going through cancer treatment I wanted to play soccer but had to wait until medically cleared. Once cleared I worked daily to improve and made it to the Washington Premier Elite Club National Level team. This is an accomplishment I am extremely proud of, and I have been recruited to play NCAA Division 3 soccer at Linfield University while pursuing my degree. My goal is to help other children and families during hardships as I have personal experience and can understand what they are experiencing. I am an official Mary Bridge Children’s Patient Ambassador. This role has allowed me to help my community and other children and families enduring hardships via cancer or other medical issues. I have given speeches about my experience with cancer, attended numerous fundraisers and worked directly with a family in my community whose child was diagnosed with the same cancer as I was. These volunteer experiences vary widely, and examples include being a greeter for the Mary Bridge festival of trees, throwing the first pitch at the Rainer’s Game etc. Bringing awareness to childhood cancer and helping raise funds is a significant part of my role. My family and I developed a picture and rhyming book for the children's oncology clinic for families to reference and provide support. In addition, I am a leader at my school and have been chosen as a student representative at sportsmanship summits two years in a row. I am the soccer team captain at my High School and take pride in leading warmups, encouraging players, and making sure the environment is positive for all. If I received this scholarship, it would greatly help me attend Linfield University and work towards my degree in psychology as I plan on helping families in hardships. Being a patient ambassador has given me the experience of knowing that helping others is my passion and calling. I want to be able to show others that there is hope and your dreams still can come true. Hailey Shride https://www.marybridge.org/blog/haileys-impactful-cancer-experience/

Star light star bright please get me through the night. I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when I was younger and completed almost three years of treatment. This was a scary time for my family and I, but I am officially a proud childhood cancer survivor. This journey didn't end after completion of treatment as it took a significant amount of time for my immune system to recuperate after years of intensive treatment. Certain treatment for my cancer caused learning difficulties as I had high-dose methotrexate, cytarabine and intrathecal chemotherapy. All are known to cause neurocognitive issues. I remember being told the side effects but at the time my family and I were just trying to help me survive and the fear of having a learning disability down the road wasn't a main concern at that time. Let's fast forward to after I completed treatment, was in remission and back in school. Although I had returned to elementary school, I missed a significant amount of school due to having a poor immune system, and extensive follow up appointments. The amount of support I received was absolutely incredible. I received "home hospital care" and a teacher would come into my home to help me with work and do fun educational activities. When I was more consistently back at school one of my teachers requested a meeting and had some concerns with cognitive abilities. I was referred to the hospital I was treated at and completed a neuropsychological assessment. The results came back that I needed a lot of assistance and received numerous 504 accommodations to assist with me with school. In addition to having neurocognitive issues, I was also behind socially and emotionally which caused a lot of anxiety for me. These accommodations made school a lot easier for me and gave me the support I needed to be successful. Unfortunately, High School was a much bigger challenge for me and with updated assessments I was recommended and qualified for an IEP. Having neurocognitive issues is frustrating and there have been many tears because I feel different than other kids my age and can't process things the same or as easily. Advocating for myself was also a difficult journey for me. I don't like feeling different or needing help, but I realized to be successful I have to accept help and always ask when I need it. High School is busy, and teachers have a lot of students, so I would often have to remind them of my IEP which was sometimes embarrassing and uncomfortable for me. Being out of my comfort zone is how I grew and learned how to advocate for myself. I am a strong, smart individual but have deficits and will not allow them to hold me back from my dreams. I know that I will be successful in college because I know what works and doesn't work. My High School really helped me with organization and understanding how to be successful. Smaller classes are areas I can thrive in, and this is one of the main reasons I am choosing to attend a smaller private university with around 14 students per professor in each course. Having my experience with cancer and educational needs really taught me that there are a lot of helpers in the world. I learned through the hospital and school that helping others is what brings true joy and what life is truly about. I use my struggles to help others in similar situations and help others gain confidence and not be afraid to ask for help. I am an official Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Patient Ambassador and do numerous volunteer activities to raise awareness and help other families enduring childhood cancer. I know that psychology is what I will study as I plan on helping families during hardships as my career. In addition to being a patient ambassador I am very involved in soccer and play at the elite club national level. I have been recruited to play soccer at many schools, but Linfield University is where I have accepted a roster spot to live my dream of playing collegiate soccer while pursuing my degree. This university has exceptional student services and small class sizes which will set me up for success. I am grateful for this possible scholarship opportunity and look forward to my future. Hailey Shride https://www.marybridge.org/blog/haileys-impactful-cancer-experience/ 253-432-2927

When I was younger, I was told I had cancer, and I could tell that was a scary word by everyone’s reactions. I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, and I learned so many new words like surgery, ports, chemo, intrathecal chemo, sleepy medicine, steroids, antibiotics, blood, and platelet transfusions. One moment sticks out in my mind of the cancer journey and that was being allergic to one of the chemotherapies. That night I learned about anaphylactic shock, neurotoxicity and possibly needing help to ever walk and talk again. My journey was almost three years of treatment, and I am still followed by the survivorship clinic and will be until the age of 26. What I learned from that chapter in my life is that I am strong, brave and a fighter. It helped me understand that life is fragile, and we aren’t guaranteed each day. I learned compassion, kindness and understanding for others. It’s hard to explain, but life is different when you have a near death experience, you appreciate things, see beauty in nature and understand what is or isn’t important. Due to my treatment, I became behind in school but was able to get onto a 504 plan for accommodations. After some time, it was clear that my processing/comprehension was a challenge, and I was diagnosed with a disability and received an IEP. I have lots of accommodations in place, but I don't let it stop me. While going through cancer treatment I wanted to play soccer but had to wait until medically cleared. Once cleared I worked daily to improve and made it to the Washington Premier Elite Club National Level team. This is an accomplishment I am extremely proud of, and I have been recruited to play NCAA Division 3 soccer at Linfield University while pursuing my degree. My goal is to help other children and families during hardships as I have personal experience and can understand what they are experiencing. I am an official Mary Bridge Children’s Patient Ambassador. This role has allowed me to help my community and other children and families enduring hardships via cancer or other medical issues. I have given speeches about my experience with cancer, attended fundraisers and worked directly with a family in my community whose child was diagnosed with the same cancer as I was. Bringing awareness to childhood cancer and helping raise funds is a significant part of my role. Thank you so much for considering me for this scholarship.

I am a childhood cancer survivor who dreamed of playing soccer. Due to my cancer, I wasn't sure if I would be able to play due to side effects from the chemotherapy. I had to wait until around age 11 to start playing soccer due to having Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Once cleared, I worked extremely hard at soccer, joined Harbor Premier and then made it onto the Washington Premier Elite Club Regional Level team. I was a varsity player my freshman, sophomore and junior year. Due to my past experience with childhood cancer, I learned that being able to play soccer is a privilege which made me appreciate and love the sport even more. I love cheering on my teammates and was honored as my High School Sportsmanship Summit Student-Athlete representative two years in a row. It was an amazing experience to be chosen for this and join other athletes at the events. In March of 2024, I tore my ACL at a college showcase in California with my club team and had surgery in May of 2024. This was extremely hard for me as recruiting for college is extremely important your junior year. One University in particular had been very interested in me playing prior to my ACL tear. I remember a doctor saying, "go to where you are wanted" and those words really made sense to me. I was unable to play my senior year of High School soccer which started in August and recently ended. However, I was picked as the team captain, attended practices and games with my team and made sure to support, lift up and help everyone feel included in events. I lead the High School soccer volunteer events to raise money which included car washes, Winterfest set up, breast cancer awareness and so forth. I am also an official Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Patient Ambassador and volunteer at many events. I want to go to college to help others who are going through hardships. I know what it means to go through really hard times and if I can bring hope to others, that is what I want to do. I am accepting a roster spot with Linfield University in Oregon (3.5 hour drive from home) so I can play women's NCAA division 3 soccer while pursuing my degree. They didn't for one second not still want me to join them after tearing my ACL so I will be going to where I am wanted. Helping pay for college with this scholarship would mean the world to me. file:///C:/Users/mcguirhj/OneDrive%20-%20Pierce%20County%20Alliance/FRC%20Folders%20and%20Files/Holly/Teen%20cancer%20survivor%20shares%20impactful%20Mary%20Bridge%20experience%20-%20MultiCare%20Foundations.html

Star light star bright help me get through the night. I don’t think anything can prepare you for hoping and praying to live to see the next day. When I was younger, I was told I had cancer, and I could tell that was a scary word by everyone’s reactions. I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and was thrown into a new whirlwind of a life. I learned so many new words like surgery, ports, chemo, intrathecal chemo, sleepy medicine, steroids, antibiotics, blood, and platelet transfusions. One moment sticks out in my mind of the cancer journey and that was being allergic to one of the chemotherapies. That night I learned about anaphylactic shock, neurotoxicity and possibly needing help to ever walk and talk again. That night still scares me as we weren’t certain I would make it through. The truth is, I made it through, but I watched other families’ children not be so fortunate and that absolutely broke my heart. My journey was almost three years of treatment, and I am still followed by the survivorship clinic and will be until the age of 26. What I learned from that chapter in my life is that I am strong, brave and a fighter. It helped me understand that life is fragile, and we aren’t guaranteed each day. I learned compassion, kindness and understanding for others. It’s hard to explain, but life is different when you have a near death experience, you appreciate things, see beauty in nature and understand what is or isn’t important. You also get endless love and support from family, friends, neighbors, nurses, doctors, child life specialists, cancer camp counselors, coaches and the lists go on. I am proud of my battle wound scars and thankful to look forward to a beautiful future. While going through cancer treatment I wanted to play soccer but had to wait until medically cleared. Once cleared I worked hard every day and have been recruited to play NCAA Division 3 soccer at Linfield University while pursuing my degree. My goal is to help other children and families during hardships as I have personal experience and can understand what they are experiencing. I am an official Mary Bridge Children’s Patient Ambassador. This role has allowed me to help my community and other children and families enduring hardships via cancer or other medical issues. I have given speeches about my experience with cancer, attended numerous fundraisers and worked directly with a family in my community whose child was diagnosed with the same cancer as I was. These volunteer experiences vary widely, and examples include being a greeter for the Mary Bridge festival of trees, throwing the first pitch at the Rainer’s game etc. Bringing awareness to childhood cancer and helping raise funds is a significant part of my role. My family and I developed a picture and rhyming book for the children's oncology clinic for families to reference and provide support. In addition, If I received this scholarship, it would greatly help me attend Linfield University and work towards my degree as I plan on helping families in hardships. Being a patient ambassador has given me the experience to know that helping others is my passion and calling. I want to be able to show others that there is hope and your dreams can come true.

Star light star bright help me get through the night. I don’t think anything can prepare you for hoping and praying to live to see the next day. When I was younger, I was told I had cancer, and I could tell that was a scary word by everyone’s reactions. I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and was thrown into a new whirlwind of a life. I learned so many new words like surgery, ports, chemo, intrathecal chemo, sleepy medicine, steroids, antibiotics, blood, and platelet transfusions. One moment sticks out in my mind of the cancer journey and that was being allergic to one of the chemotherapies. That night I learned about anaphylactic shock, neurotoxicity and possibly needing help to ever walk and talk again. That night still scares me as we weren’t certain I would make it through. The truth is, I made it through, but I watched other families’ children not be so fortunate and that absolutely broke my heart. My journey was almost three years of treatment, and I am still followed by the survivorship clinic and will be until the age of 26. What I learned from that chapter in my life is that I am strong, brave and a fighter. It helped me understand that life is fragile, and we aren’t guaranteed each day. I learned compassion, kindness and understanding for others. It’s hard to explain, but life is different when you have a near death experience, you appreciate things, see beauty in nature and understand what is or isn’t important. You also get endless love and support from family, friends, neighbors, nurses, doctors, child life specialists, cancer camp counselors, coaches and the lists go on. I am proud of my battle wound scars and thankful to look forward to a beautiful future. While going through cancer treatment I wanted to play soccer but had to wait until medically cleared. Once cleared I worked daily to improve and made it to the Washington Premier Elite Club National Level team. This is an accomplishment I am extremely proud of, and I have been recruited to play NCAA Division 3 soccer at Linfield University while pursuing my degree. My goal is to help other children and families during hardships as I have personal experience and can understand what they are experiencing. I am an official Mary Bridge Children’s Patient Ambassador. This role has allowed me to help my community and other children and families enduring hardships via cancer or other medical issues. I have given speeches about my experience with cancer, attended numerous fundraisers and worked directly with a family in my community whose child was diagnosed with the same cancer as I was. These volunteer experiences vary widely, and examples include being a greeter for the Mary Bridge festival of trees, throwing the first pitch at the Rainer’s game etc. Bringing awareness to childhood cancer and helping raise funds is a significant part of my role. My family and I developed a picture and rhyming book for the children's oncology clinic for families to reference and provide support. In addition, I am a leader at my school and have been chosen as a student representative at sportsmanship summits two years in a row. I am currently the team soccer captain at my High School and take pride in leading warmups, encouraging players, and making sure the environment is positive for all players. In addition, I have volunteered with my High School soccer team every year. This includes organized events such as car washes, thrift store coverage, Winterfest set up/take down and breast cancer awareness fundraisers. I enjoy showing teammates the importance of giving back to the community. If I received this scholarship, it would greatly help me attend Linfield University and work towards my degree in psychology as I plan on helping families in hardships. Being a patient ambassador has given me the experience to know that helping others is my passion and calling. I want to be able to show others that there is hope and your dreams can come true. I have attached the below website for you to look at as well. Thank you so much for considering me for this scholarship. https://give.multicare.org/teen-cancer-survivor-shares-impactful-mary-bridge-experience/

I am a High School senior in Washington state with the ambition to study Psychology. I am a childhood cancer survivor and am an official Mary Bridge Children’s Patient Ambassador. This role has allowed me to help my community and other children and families enduring hardships via cancer or other medical issues. I have given speeches about my experience with cancer, attended numerous fundraisers and worked directly with a family in my community whose child was diagnosed with the same cancer as I was. These volunteer experiences vary widely, and examples include being a greeter for the Mary Bridge festival of trees, throwing the first pitch at the Rainer’s game etc. Bringing awareness to childhood cancer and helping raise funds is a significant part of my role. In addition, I have volunteered with my High School soccer team every year. This includes organized events such as car washes, thrift store coverage, Winterfest set up/take down and breast cancer awareness fundraisers. I wasn't able to play soccer until around age 10 due to cancer and side effects, but I worked daily to push myself and become the best I could possibly be. I play for an Elite Club National Level team and was recruited by Linfield University to play NCAA division 3 soccer. I would love to have the opportunity to be able to attend and study psychology. My goal is to obtain a career where I can help other children and families going through cancer as I have personal experience with this. Being a patient ambassador and volunteering in the community has made me believe helping families is my calling. I have worked hard to help my community and enjoyed the focus soccer brings and being captain of my High School soccer team. Playing collegiate soccer while pursuing my degree is my dream and I want other childhood cancer survivors to know there is hope, a future and dreams can come true.