Meet Olivia: 2024 and 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.
Olivia’s Story
Olivia was diagnosed with Wilms tumor just weeks after her second birthday. The toddler began an intensive regimen of chemotherapy for six months, accompanied by chronic neuropathy, upper respiratory infections, and countless trips to the emergency room.
“After chemotherapy, two surgeries, and months of fear, I was cancer free. According to my medical team, I was a medical miracle,” she told us. “However, my treatment wasn’t over. Years following my treatment, I experienced chronic kidney infections, post-traumatic stress disorder, and neuromuscular pain - primarily attributed to the toxicity of the treatments I received.”
Olivia’s now passionate about biomedical research and spent all four years of high school conducting independent pharmacology research focused on UV radiation exposure and new methods of medication consumption. She’s already worked with research teams at the NIH and Children's National Medical Center, and she has another research job lined up for the summer before starting college.
“Each successful experiment tells a tale of what was once scientific uncertainty, representing lost opportunities among the children that came before me,” she said. “With each new finding, I envision a child ringing the bell to remission: a life preserved.”
Olivia is attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she is studying biomedical engineering and conducting research at the MIT Bob Langer Lab. She also serves in MIT’s student government and as an editor at an MIT research journal.
“While my fight will likely extend through my life, I choose not to let cancer define me. Instead, I use it as a medium for action: my experiences in the hospital have fostered within me an innate passion for biomedical research.”
Olivia’s Advocacy Project
As a young child in treatment, Olivia took great comfort in art.
“I was captivated by a table graffitied with blots of marker and paint. To a child fighting cancer, the sense of community fostered by the art table is indescribable,” she shared with us, adding that the art table can have a huge impact on a child’s psychological and social development.
“Complex medical challenges like cancer can be isolating and unpredictable. The art table created a sense of normalcy in such a traumatic environment.”
For her volunteer project in 2024, Olivia held a successful art supply drive to collect supplies for donation to children in treatment, in coordination with MIT and social workers at Massachusetts General Hospital’s pediatric oncology unit.
“Understanding the positive impact that art has had on my life while fighting cancer, I hope to extend this to other children. Ultimately, by establishing art rooms in pediatric inpatient wards or replenishing their supplies, I believe the long-term outcomes for children fighting cancer can be greatly improved,” Olivia said.
Her 2025 advocacy project is focused on creating a platform to more clearly communicate current developments in cancer research, targeted to policy advocates and individuals without a scientific background.
“As a cancer survivor and science policy advocate, I’ve found that the interpretation of findings from cancer research can be quite daunting, especially for individuals who aren’t specialized in the field,” she told us. “Ultimately, this hinders progress in cancer research funding and policy related to cancer at large. More broadly, this has spurred cancer-related misinformation, especially with regards to pediatric cancer.”
Using her background in cancer biology, Olivia envisions her platform as a place where peer-reviewed research can be understood by those without a background in medicine by presenting clear summaries of research papers alongside explanations of the basic science involved and any related federal legislation or policy implications.
