UNIONLEADER Taking the world by storm Union student raises money to fight cancer

By Javon Ross Staff Writer

Abigail Han is on a personal mission to raise money and awareness to cure cancer. Han, a student at Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child and resident of Union, is a candidate for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Student Visionaries of the Year fundraising campaign. She is on a campaign to raise $25,000 as her goal for the organization. Her campaign started on Wednesday, Jan. 11, and will end on Saturday, March 4.

Han’s involvement in this fundraising campaign is very personal.

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“My grandmother, Joanne Gunther, passed away from kidney cancer in 2014 when I was 5,” Han told LocalSource. “My grandfather also passed from lung cancer in 2006, and recently, a young boy in the community, Marciano Rosa, was diagnosed with leukemia. My campaign is dedicated to helping him and everyone affected by cancer.”

Han has been putting a lot of effort into raising money and was thankful for those who have supported her efforts along the way.

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“I have weekly meetings with different contacts at LLS. We go over everything that’s going to happen for the week,” Han said. “I learned about different ways to fundraise, from personal asks to sending letters and emails, asking if people would be willing to help. I also approached businesses and scheduled proceed nights, where a percentage of your check would go toward LLS.”

Her involvement in fundraising toward a cure is connected to Han’s hope for a future career.

“I’m interested in medicine, I learned about three pillars of support from LLS: research, educational support and advocacy,” Han said. “I chose research, because that is what I am most interested in doing in the future.”

With her hopes set on college, Abigail has a few choices in mind.

“My brother’s school, Quinnipiac, has a really good medicine program,” Han said. “I am also interested in going to NYU. I also want to play sports in college, hopefully, softball. So, I hope that I can balance my time between pre-med and sports.”

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Han credits her parents for helping her balance her advocacy work with school and being a teenager.

“My mom and dad are a huge help.

They help me manage,” Han said. “Everyone on my team helps, but my parents know more people than I do. My mom told me this is a great idea and told me to go for it, so here I am.”

Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child is an independent Catholic school founded in 1924 by the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus. From prekindergarten to grade six, the school teaches boys and girls, and from grades seven to 12, the school teaches only girls. Oak Knoll provides English and theocracy, world language, world and U.S. history, laboratory science, math and physical education courses. The school also welcomes a diverse student body, developing students who think critically, embrace knowledge, respond with moral and ethical integrity, and contribute to the lives of others. One hundred percent of graduates from Oak Knoll enter four-year colleges and universities.