Honors, Scholars and Leadership

Relay for Life
Reflections on Participating in Relay for Life Honors Student Represents HSL at National Conference

Relay for Life

Melissa Jeffries and Katie Young show off their pirate bandanas.

Students from the Center for Honors, Scholars and Leadership (HSL) were among the many students, faculty, staff, and community members who rallied together in the Campus Recreation Center on March 30th to join in the fight against cancer and have the biggest sleepover party on campus!

Relay for Life is an overnight event and is the American Cancer Society’s number-one fundraiser. Groups of friends, clubs, and campus organizations formed teams to raise funds prior to the third annual Relay for Life at UNC. When the big day arrived, everyone set up camp in the Rec Center for the pirate-themed event, “Walking the Plank for a Cure.”

Many HSL students found a way to contribute to the success of this year’s Relay for Life. Some were involved in the planning and execution of the memorable and fun-filled event as committee chairpersons and members. Other HSL students participated by joining the Honors team or one of the many other teams and pledging to keep at least one member of their team on the track at all times (yes, all night long) to symbolize that cancer never sleeps.

After countless hours of planning and 14 hours of playing games, catching a quick nap, or snacking on yummy treats, everyone in the Rec Center recognized and remembered those whose lives have been impacted by cancer. Participants also learned ways to prevent cancer in their own lives, and they raised over $38,000 in the process!

Congratulations to all the HSL students and other participants who worked together to make this year’s Relay for Life a fun, successful event. If you’re interested in finding other ways to help in the fight against cancer, check out the new club on campus, Colleges Against Cancer!

Angie Bartleson (angie_bartleson@yahoo.com)
Co-Vice President of International Film Series
Student Honors Council

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Reflections on Participating in Relay for Life

Sarah Baum and Matt Kennedy rest while their teammates take their turn walking for the cure.

As I took a break from my endless studying, I looked out my window towards Gunter Hall. It was close to 2:00 a.m., and I was wondering what I was missing out on. Almost all of Decker Hall had left to participate in the Relay for Life. I, however, had stayed behind because most of my final assignments had been handed out, and I was trying to get a head start on them. My philosophy was to take care of business today so I could enjoy life tomorrow. As I turned away from the window, preparing to dive back into my work, my phone started to vibrate.

It was my friends Sara Baum and Katie Young on the other end of the line. They were laughing and telling me I could still come to the Relay for Life—even at two o’clock in the morning—and help fill in for some of the more exhausted Honors participants. I mumbled that I had work to do, and they jokingly told me to come when I came to my senses. I hung up the phone and looked back and forth between my running shoes and my homework. I decided I had done enough work that night.

Walking into the gym, I instantly knew I had made the right choice in coming. There were college kids everywhere—tents and sleeping bags were clustered all over the place; students were running around, eating, sleeping, and laughing. I found some of the Honors students playing a game of musical chairs, and when they were done, I followed them to the rest of the group. Sara walked up to me and said she had been walking for hours and needed a break. She asked me to take her place in the race, so I ran upstairs to where everyone was walking laps and found Katie and the other Honors students.

I noticed as I began to walk around the track that it was lined with a lot of decorated paper bags. I turned to Katie and asked what they were. She told me that they were called luminarias and that each bag represented a person who had lost the battle with cancer. She then told me how I had missed out on a special ceremony in which everyone circled the track while the lights were out, sharing a moment of silence for the victims of cancer. I spent the next few laps mentally kicking myself for having missed out on such a touching event.

Staring at the seemingly endless row of bags, I began to reflect upon my own night. It started with my being miserable, alone, and working for a future that could be taken away at any minute. I realized that my life isn’t just my future; it’s about spending time with the people you care about today. I realized that this event allows us to see life as it truly is: fragile and fleeting. We all need to make every minute count and find a balance between work and play to make sure our lives are full.

As I left the Relay for Life the next morning, I had a new outlook on life. I still recognized that my future was important, but I wasn’t going to pass up on any more events that would let me live today. I am looking forward to future Relays for Life and other Honors events. I hope to see you there, and you can count on seeing me walking the entire night.

Matthew J. Kennedy

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Honors Student Represents HSL at National Conference

Mike Bradshaw in San Francisco.

Every year the Center for Honors, Scholars and Leadership (HSL) holds the Works in Progress Symposium, an opportunity for undergraduate researchers to present their research to peers and a committee of professors. The committee acts as a judging panel for the symposium, evaluating the presentations and selecting the best research presenter as the winner. As an additional incentive for last year’s presenters, the Sponsored Programs and Academic Research Center (SPARC) offered to send the winner to the National Conference of Undergraduate Research (NCUR). NCUR is an exceptional opportunity to present research to a national audience and also a great chance to network with fellow undergraduate researchers and others.

Last year, I took the opportunity to present my research regarding cancer treatment at the annual Works in Progress Symposium along with a number of other HSL students. Out of the many participants, I was chosen as the winning presenter by the committee. As the winner, I was fortunate enough to attend NCUR, which took place in San Francisco at the Dominican University of California, and present my research there.

My research involves a drug called doxorubicin, which is extensively used in the treatment of a wide range of cancers, including breast cancer, lymphomas, and various sarcomas. Doxorubicin is extremely effective as an antineoplastic; unfortunately, its use is limited by its most deleterious side effect—cardiotoxicity manifesting as congestive heart failure. The cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin is especially concerning when the drug is used to treat childhood cancers (as it often is), as the effects may not manifest until as many as 20 years from treatment.

Dr. Reid Hayward in Sport and Exercise Science at UNC, whose research is funded by the American Cancer Society, has found that exercise reduces the cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin. While working in Dr. Hayward’s lab, I asked him if there were questions that he had not yet answered, and he told me that there is a biochemical technique called high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) that could be used to quantify the amount of doxorubicin in the heart tissue. As a double major in biology and chemistry, I set out to learn the technique, and I have successfully developed a method to detect doxorubicin in heart tissue. The purpose of my research is to determine if there is a difference in the concentration of doxorubicin accumulated in the heart tissue of sedentary and exercised rats. The results will contribute to our understanding of the cardioprotective mechanism of exercise, an important step in developing a more effective and less toxic treatment for cancer patients.

Presenting this research at NCUR was a great experience for me. Not only did I get to share my research with a national audience, but I also had the opportunity to see presentations on a number of research projects from undergraduates at other colleges and universities. Several of the other researchers even presented their work with doxorubicin! My academic advisor, Dr. Mackessy, accompanied me to the conference and was greatly supportive of me. In addition to the exceptional plenary speakers, the conference featured opportunities for recreation and leisure. We opted for a cruise around the bay, where we saw Alcatraz up close!

Having seen a great number of fellow undergraduate researchers and their work, I am pleased to say that the future is looking bright indeed. The quality of the work was extraordinary, and the atmosphere of the conference was one of intellectual excitement. It is good to know that the undergraduate research at our school measures up quite well on a national level. Honors students, do not be intimidated by the thesis—once you begin, you will find it will open countless opportunities for you!

Mike Bradshaw

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