My name is Jaden, and I am an 18-year-old Political Science student at Penn State University. I have been deeply involved with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) since I was 10 years old, a journey that began with a profound personal experience.
When I was nominated to be a Student Visionary of the Year, I had no idea how it would impact my life. I was allowed to join a groundbreaking philanthropic leadership development program for high school students. Throughout my courageous seven-week journey, I had a goal of creating a world without blood cancers.
On August 18, 2021, after months of complaining about severe knee pain, I was diagnosed with mixed phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL). I was 16 at the time of my diagnosis and was supposed to be starting my junior year of high school that same day. (It was the first time everyone went back to school since COVID).
In 2001, I was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) at age three and survived thanks to three and a half years of intense treatment at the City of Hope Los Angeles. I am now 25 years old, a college graduate, and working for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), hoping to give back to those who helped save my life.
On April 23, 2020, at the age of 15, my whole world changed. I got the call that I was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) while getting ready for a birthday party. Throughout quarantine, I had to undergo four cycles of chemotherapy and 14 days of radiation consisting of countless days in and out of the hospital.
At the age of 13, I became the youngest stem cell donor at Johns Hopkins Hospital. At 15, I am a Student Visionary of the Year in the 2024 Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) campaign. LLS has become an integral part of my life over the past two years.
In 2020, I was asked to join The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Student Visionaries of the Year (SVOY) by my friend, Camryn, who is now leukemia-free. Unsure of what LLS was or what I was getting myself into, I hesitated but agreed. Two years later, after my second grand finale event for SVOY Toledo, I was in love.
For the longest time, I sat on the edge of my bed, hoping that one day I would have the gift of being an older sister to a darling little boy. I wished for him every time I saw a shooting star or when the clock struck 11:11 - I hoped for Max.
