Childhood cancer is the second leading cause of death in children. That statistic might sound scary, but it hits even harder when you know someone affected by it. On August 22nd, 2011, Colgate's President Jeff Herbst informed the University that one of the Class of 2012's members, Vic Krivitski passed away after a long bout with cancer. Like many of my classmates, I was emotionally shocked. Up to this point, I had been lucky enough to never lose a classmate too soon to a disease or accident. I had never truly contemplated the effect it must have on a family, especially one in which the child had no siblings. Although I didn't know Vic well, I learned much about his vitality and love of life too late, and became even more sad that he was taken too soon. To honor Vic's memory, the Class of 2012 created a scholarship to commemorate him and his energy. Although I contributed to this fundraising effort, I never thought I did enough. "How can I prevent this from helping anyone else? What can I do?" This year, I have been lucky enough to begin my journey to becoming a doctor at Tulane University School of Medicine. At Tulane, there is an event every year that raises money for the St. Baldrick's Foundation. St. Baldrick's donates all their proceeds to pediatric cancer research. At the event, people shave their heads to be in solidarity with children who are undergoing chemotherapy. Shavees are sponsored by friends and family, and all proceeds go to cancer research. My goal, a steep one with friends all starting jobs and living on tight budgets, is to raise $1000 dollars. I dedicate this money in memory of Vic, the classmate the Colgate Class of 2012 lost too soon. So, for the next couple of weeks, I'll be raising money to support research for childhood cancer. Any amount helps; single dollars add up. Join me in helping to find cures. Together, we can beat this and help millions of children in the future live the lives they were meant to. Sorry for the long post, and thank you for your support!