Meet Amelia
2019 & 2026 Scholar
Hodgkin Lymphoma Survivor
Thanks to a generous survivorship program grant from Hyundai Hope On Wheels, twenty-three survivors were welcomed into the 2026 Children’s Cancer Cause College Scholars Program, representing both organizations’ strong investment in survivors and belief in their bright futures.
Each of these students receive a financial scholarship to help with academic expenses, and each Scholar commits to undertaking a volunteer project of their choosing related to childhood cancer advocacy.
“It may be hard for our voices to be heard individually, but together we are a powerful group of uniquely strong and insightful young people. We can survive and thrive together, as a community, better than we can alone.”
“I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma during a pediatrician visit when I was 18,” Amelia told us. “As a healthy college freshman at home for spring break, it was a shocking turn of events. I withdrew from college and spent the next few months undergoing chemotherapy and radiation at my local children’s hospital.”
After achieving remission, she returned to campus with a new host of challenges, including concerns about insurance coverage, side effects from medication, and a struggle to ‘fit in’ with her peers.
“Being so sick at such a young age and such a transitional phase in my life was extremely challenging,” says Amelia. “I am still struggling to process the trauma that comes with childhood cancer. It can be difficult at times to balance the joy of remission with the pain of late effects and the fear of relapse.”
Amelia finished undergrad, went on to receive a Master’s degree from George Washington’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, and launched her career in cancer research. Now pursuing her doctorate, Amelia celebrates ten years of remission in the summer of 2026.
Since 2020, Amelia has served on the Children’s Cancer Cause Survivorship Advisory Council, providing invaluable guidance on our survivorship programs and activities.
Amelia’s Advocacy Projects
When Amelia received her first Children’s Cancer Cause scholarship as an undergrad, she founded “Survivors and Thrivers,” a school club for other students with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. The group was instrumental in advocating for flexibility and accessibility in hybrid learning during the COVID pandemic.
For her 2026 advocacy project, Amelia plans to create and disseminate an educational toolkit about genetic testing for childhood cancer patients and survivors, based on existing literature plus interviews with precision medicine experts, oncologists, and survivors.
“This project is meaningful to me as an adult survivor of pediatric cancer treated ten years ago because I did not have the opportunity to access genetic testing during my diagnosis,” she told us. “Genetic testing could be an opportunity to answer the questions that plague many survivors: Why did this happen to me? Will it happen again? Will it happen to my children?”
