Meet Lucas, 2025 Scholar
Thanks to a generous survivorship program grant from Hyundai Hope On Wheels, twenty-two survivors were welcomed into the 2025 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.
Lucas’s Story
“While visiting Trinidad on vacation, I became severely sick,” Lucas told us, recalling the summer when he was eight years old. “I was feeling extremely tired, and the lymph nodes in my neck were swelling so much that within a week, I looked like a football player. I kept randomly falling asleep, and I could not breathe well so I was snoring.”
His family took him to the hospital as soon as they returned from the trip. He was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
The lymph nodes in Lucas’s chest were growing so rapidly they were blocking his airway, and he had to be intubated in order to receive proper oxygen while his oncology team administered chemotherapy. He was sedated for a full week and was unable to leave the hospital for the first month after diagnosis.
“At age eight, I did not fully understand what was happening, but I knew I was very sick,” he says about the many nights spent in the hospital, isolated from family and friends.
Treatment took three and a half years.
“I missed most of third grade and fell further behind in school. I lost all my hair and felt self-conscious. I didn’t see my friends, and I had to stop playing sports to protect the port in my chest.”
Thankfully, Lucas was eventually able to return to sports - he’s a swimmer and tennis player - and he went on to excel in school, graduating high school as an honors society member, treasurer of the student government, and an active community volunteer. He’s planning to study Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics at Stevenson University.
Lucas’s Advocacy Project
For his volunteer project, Lucas is planning a Childhood Cancer Awareness Month QR Code Trail on campus in September, as a way to turn awareness into a fun and interactive activity.
“Many young adults are constantly using their phones, so this project is convenient because students can quickly learn facts about cancer at the tip of their finger,” he told us.
The QR codes will provide information and facts about childhood cancer, stories from students who are survivors, and ways to get involved and take action.
Lucas hopes to engage other leaders on campus in supporting the project and encouraging widespread participation by students.