In Memory of Frank

Frank Kasper was a member of our 2024 College Scholars Program. He passed away in August 2026, just shy of his 20th birthday, after a courageous battle with leukemia. We honor and remember Frank in our ongoing work to improve healthcare policy at the federal level — one of Frank’s great ambitions.

A young man with short hair and a black jacket sitting at a restaurant table inside a cityscape with tall buildings visible through large windows behind him.

Frank was diagnosed with Pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia when he was 16 years old, during his junior year of high school. 

“After I got over the initial shock of the diagnosis, and started on a treatment plan, I thought about the cost of the cancer treatment,” Frank told us. “My family is very blessed and lucky that health care expenses throughout my lengthy treatment have not been an issue. But it upsets me that the first thought in other families' minds when they receive a serious diagnosis is, ‘How will we pay for this?’” 

Frank was always been passionate about politics, interning with political campaigns and taking classes on government, but his experience with cancer helped him hone in on public health policy as a specific interest area. 

“I want to help establish policies for everyone who lives in this country, to change things for the better, so that when people in the United States get sick, they can simply focus on one thing - getting better,” he said. “My faith teaches me that we are all here to take care of each other, and leukemia has driven that point home even more strongly for me and my family, and I know now what my purpose is.” 

A young man in a hospital bed smiling with a brown Labrador puppy lying beside him. The puppy has an orange bow around its neck.
Young man standing behind a wooden podium with the seal of the United States Senate, in a room decorated with images of the Capitol building and American flags.

In Memoriam

Driven by his passion around the politics of healthcare, Frank dreamed of helping to lessen the financial burdens of families of children with cancer.

“One of my long-term goals is to work in Washington DC to change policy to ensure that health care is available for all Americans, without them having to use Go Fund Me fundraisers or declare bankruptcy,” he wrote in his application. 

Frank’s obituary shares that his proudest achievement was to complete a semester at The College of New Jersey as a political science major, taking his final exams from a hospital bed and earning a 4.0 GPA.

A scholarship fund in Frank’s honor has been established at The College of New Jersey. Click on this link and choose from the "Designation" dropdown box the "Frank Kasper Fund in Political Science" option before making a monetary gift in memory of Frank. “Helping others was central to who Frank was. This scholarship ensures his passion for service lives on by supporting future students, just as he would have wanted,” Frank’s parents write in his obituary.

We deeply grieve the loss of Frank, and we offer our heartfelt condolences to all who knew and loved him.