Meet the 2022 Scholars

"2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the AbbVie CF Scholarship. As we celebrate this milestone, we look forward to continuing to recognize more students pursing their educational goals. Please share your future ambitions in the Cystic Fibrosis community, professionally and personally."

Since I was just days old my family and I began the fight for finding a cure for cystic fibrosis. Growing up my family and I held yearly fundraisers, called "Rock the Block." With the help of family and friends, we were able to raise over $35,000 over the years. It was so much fun, but also took a ton of commitment and time. After hosting Rock the Block for 5 plus years, we switched to doing a yearly 5K, no matter the weather people showed up to help raise money for this cause. After several years of hosting this event we then made our way to help raise awareness through the Great Strides Walks. My family, friends, and I drove several hours to the nearest event and walked, in honor of "Christa's Crew." 2017 was the last time we participated (we were planning to in 2020, but then...covid). In 2016 however, I made a commitment to really start taking charge of my health. I started running, even though it was one of my biggest struggles. With this, I started an instagram account dedicated to my health as well. I posted my journey and followed others on similar journeys. This was one of the first times I realized I was not alone in this fight. While my account has not grown substantially, I have connected with some great people and love hearing other's stories from their journey. This coming year I plan on making the walk in Mesa, AZ with some of my college friends. This is also a great way to help spread awareness to my friends and others on my college campus. During my high school career I took every opportunity to share my story. During my junior year of speech, I made it to state for a speech I had written about life with CF, I then turned this into an educational presentation and made it to state 4H and presented. Most recently I have been an avid member of the CF community through social media, especially the Boomer Esiason Foundation. I follow them closely and give feedback and fill out surveys as they come up. I also have become a member of a group/app called "Stuff That Works." It is a social media platform of people with different chronic illnesses that share their stories, and connect with others that may be experiencing some of the same symptoms. For the future I plan to stay connected with others and the Boomer Esiason Foundation through social media and continue walking at Great Strides Walks to raise awareness and money. I will continue posting on my CF Instagram page to spread awareness and take every opportunity I get to speak about Cystic Fibrosis.