Jacqueline Minnick
Hometown: Lombard, IL
University: University of Illinois
Major: Kinesiology
BIOGRAPHY
Hello! My name is Jacqueline Minnick and I am a senior here at UIUC. I am studying Kinesiology and French and I have also been studying to become a Physician Assistant for the past 3 years. Recently, I have decided to go to Nursing school to become a CRNA after graduation because I realized how much more the position appeals to my interests. Right now, I work as a Lifeguard/Swim Instructor at Campus Recreation. I have one sister and interestingly enough, she just got a job as a Pediatric Nurse at Children's Hospital in Wisconsin. She's one of my biggest role models. My family is pretty small and it's just me, my sister along with mom and dad. As a family, we just enjoy each other's company and I feel like about 85% of the time we are all just laughing at/with each other. It's fabulous. I love to travel and have been so lucky to have the opportunity to do a bit of it. So far the best place I have traveled to would have to be Mombasa, Kenya. Something interesting about me would be that: Je parle français (I speak French). Also, I love to run and I am really into marathons. I love being active and I have to always be moving or I will go nuts if I'm not! Friends and family are everything to me. I personally believe that everything happens for a reason and that any situation encountered in life should always be handled with a positive attitude.
PERSONAL STATEMENT
For me, cancer is what took my Uncle away from me when I was 6 years old. My Uncle Davie died of lung cancer when he was only 51 and I remember that even at my young age, I knew that wasn't right. My last memory of him is him looking weak and tired in his bed and it was difficult for me to see and understand that someone could be brought to this awful state. It's sad to think about how people always hear about cancer but never quite understand it. I feel like it is so important to do this trip so that people will keep in mind that cancer can happen to anyone. Cancer IS preventable and I think that more people need to be reminded about this. A lot of people always say, "Every thing gives you cancer!" so then they continue to make poor choices and basically surrender to the advancements of cancer. I just feel that more people need to prevent cancer before it comes to the point where they have to fight it. No one deserves what cancer can do to a person or the people that love that person. With the Illini 4000, people will see the organization as a group of individuals who feel so strongly about the issue of cancer, that they will ride their bike across the country so that others will start to think about it too. Actions speak louder than words and I feel like that is exactly what the Illini 4000 believes in. I want to be a part of this movement so that people will start to think and reevaluate their way of lives so that cancer can be stopped before it even has the chance to start.