Discus Awards

To read more about Melinda's experience buy her book, "Grace: A Child's Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery". Proceeds of the book are donated to childhood cancer research and childhood cancer organizations.

My life-changing journey began in the fall of 2007, when I became mysteriously ill. After months of exhaustive searching, repeated misdiagnoses, and desperate testing, I at last was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma on December 18th, 2007. Strangely enough, it came as a relief…we then knew the enemy, and how to proceed in declaring war. However, the overwhelming weight was only temporarily lifted. I began my first of four rounds of intense chemotherapy shortly thereafter, followed by three weeks of daily radiation. Throughout the six months that my treatment spanned, the love of my family, the comfort of my God, and the healing of my passion, dance, kept me anchored in the real world while afloat in that of cancer. Finishing treatment on May 8th 2008, I soon faced a plethora of life-threatening side effects. Facing and overcoming an eating disorder, I went on to discover the value of helping others through my story.

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Filed under: Melinda Marchiano • All-Around High School Students • Meet the Winner

If you want to read more about Kelly's experience, read her journal on her CaringBridge.

Hello everyone! I hope that your holidays have brought you peace, love, and happiness!

When I was diagnosed on June 24th, 2008 with Severe Aplastic Anemia my life completely changed. I was going to be a freshman in high school, one of the most exciting times of a person’s life! Severe Aplastic Anemia is a very rare blood-related disorder which is NOT cancer. My body still produced healthy cells, but the disease didn’t make enough cells in my bone marrow so I eventually would have run out and died.

Luckily, I had a ton of family and friends supporting me every step of the way, so I didn’t have to go through it alone. It was heartbreaking news to everyone around me and my family and I were devastated. I couldn’t stop talking about finally going to the same school as my sister! My school was very cooperative and sent homebound tutors; but I, with the help of my mom, taught myself all of my classes. I didn’t feel sorry for myself and flaunt this hardship around for pity because I am an extremely strong individual. I realized that God only gives the hardships to people he knows can handle and push through them. Boy did he choose an excellent person! I not only have been in remission for three years, my body responded to all the medicine without any major side effects!

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Filed under: Kelly Eastman • All-Around High School Students • Meet the Winner

It started the summer I tired of writing dog stories. I had decided that being published in a children’s fiction magazine was not going to be the extent of my writing career. So I snapped up the chance to write a few columns for the local newspaper—never mind that I was thirteen—and discovered I had much more to say than I thought.

Looking back on my fast-ending high school years, I am shocked at what I became: Campaigner. Teacher’s aide. Writer. Tutor. Pianist. PR manager. Speaker. Director. It’s all the more shocking because of what I am—a shy-ish homeschooler who never stepped foot in a classroom and preferred changing the world from a distance.

Being homeschooled since forever, I took it hard when I hit the teen years and learned that every other kid my age was in band, drama and French club. Everything the local homeschool group tried seemed to collapse a few weeks later. I resigned myself to a life of library haunting.

But then the strangest thing happened—my passionate side refused to go along with that. Fueled by the few strangers who hunted down my phone number and thanked me for writing those newspaper columns, I decided to serve instead of be served, to go hunting for opportunity instead of waiting for it. It wouldn’t come pre-packaged in clubs or classes—that I knew.

I just never expected my story to end like it did.

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Filed under: Bailey Bergmann • All-Around High School Students • Meet the Winner