When Liz imagined her college experience- she saw herself at a big out-of-state school enjoying football games and exploring her passion for teaching. She couldn’t wait to get involved on campus and make it feel like home.
What she didn’t imagine was being diagnosed with cancer.
Growing up in Silicon Valley, Liz attended an all-girls private school with constant academic pressure and a competitive atmosphere. “I’m a perfectionist and was really hard on myself in high school,” she explained. “Where I’m from, nobody says they want to be a teacher—they want to be the next Steve Jobs.”
When it was time to apply to college, Liz submitted applications all over the country, eager to experience something new. Eventually, she chose the University of Minnesota, moving over 2,000 miles from home. “I only knew two people,” Liz says. “I wanted to build a community and make my school feel smaller.”
Liz’s mom knew a great way to build a community- join a sorority. “Honestly, I was anti-sorority because of my high school experience; I thought they’d be cliquey. But my mom, an Alpha Phi, told me about her positive experience.” Following her mom’s advice, Liz found herself drawn to Delta Gamma. “Everyone was so unique yet driven, goal-oriented and smart,” she said. She joined DG and, over the next three years, threw herself into college life—taking on leadership roles, cheering at football games and making lifelong friends in her chapter.
Then, in November 2023, everything changed. Liz began feeling fatigued and sick. By summer, she experienced night sweats, trouble breathing, loss of appetite and significant weight loss. Liz shared, “I am on the recruitment team, and my best friend is the chapter president. I would need to be painting banners, instead, I was taking three naps a day. My roommates were worried, but every time I ate, I’d get sick.”
Doctors shared their theories ranging from thyroid abnormalities to the common cold. In August 2024, Liz texted her roommates that if she didn’t feel better by the next morning, she’d take herself to the emergency room. The next morning, she drove herself to the hospital.
After a series of tests, doctors found a mass the size of a small watermelon on her heart and lungs. She sat alone in the hospital as the doctor told her, “It’s a textbook case of Lymphoma.” And just like that, the medical mystery was solved. “It is not something you expect to hear at twenty-one. I didn’t process it for a long time. Doctors were telling me that it could be so many things- never cancer.” Soon after, her roommates arrived for support, and they took notes to share with her parents when they landed.
Four days later, a biopsy confirmed Primary Mediastinal Large B-cell Lymphoma (PMBL), and Liz began chemotherapy. Her dad moved to Minnesota to help her through treatments, and her sorority sisters rallied around her. “My sorority has been amazing and super supportive during my treatments.” Liz is active on her sorority’s honor board and is on track to graduate in May 2025.
“The amount of support I have gotten from members of Greek Life is astounding.” The University of Minnesota Fraternity and Sorority Life office dedicated its annual Homecoming Philanthropy event to support lymphoma research. Glizzys for Lizzy sold food and hot dogs and surpassed their initial $1,000 fundraising goal by raising more than $4,000.
Liz spends chemo treatment weeks in the hospital Monday through Friday. “To be honest, it gets pretty boring and isolating in the hospital,” Liz shares, “it makes my day whenever a friend brings me non-hospital food and hangs out. At this point, the nurses on my unit know all my friends.” Although she missed her chapter’s initiation, her sorority family celebrated by visiting her in the hospital.
Cancer isn’t something that anyone wants to go through, but Liz has a love for life that is palpable when you talk to her. Liz shared, “I have learned not to expect anything but to embrace the opportunities and stay positive. I don’t have a choice in having cancer, but it’s another thing on my path. I wouldn’t have been able to get through this without the support of my family, sorority sisters and the whole Greek Community.”
