Relay for Life will be held this year on Saturday, April 1 on the University Green Space to take action against cancer.
Carter Gustin, junior in media studies, has been involved with Relay for Life since his high school days.
"The first time I got involved with relay was my sophomore year of high school. I joined the committee as part of the leadership and over the course of the next two years moved up until I was co-chair my senior year.
Then I arrived at Auburn and again joined as a director my freshman year, a member of the exec board my sophomore year and this year a chair of the event," Gustin said. "This year is 6th consecutive year being on the leadership of a Relay For Life committee."
Gustin said this year there will be a Dinsey's "Wish Upon a Cure" theme.
"Everything that we have will have different disney twist on them," Gustin said. "We will have a Mr. Relay princess walk, which I am super excited to see happen."
There will also be several different games and activities at every team tent with a disney spin on them, Gustin said.
"We will have different speakers and survivors," Gustin said. "Then to finish the night on a good upbeat we will be hosting a zumba event to try an make sure everyone is good and awake"
Gustin said Relay is extremely special to him.
"Anyone who relays has a reason why they relay," Gustin said. "I am not sure if I have a single favorite memory from relay, but what I do have is memories that I love that come back to me from family members effected by cancer."
Before he was born, Gustin's grandfather was diagnosed with cancer. Gustin said he relays for him because he's been his lifelong role model.
"Without the help and donations of the American Cancer Society and Relay For Life I am not sure that I would have ever met him," Gustin said. "Every year he comes to relay with me and gets to experience it with me."
Cancer also effected Gustin's life when his grandmother passed away from pancreatic cancer during his freshman year.
"She was given only months to live and managed to fight for six months before eventually losing her fight with cancer," Gustin said. "She is someone that was really special to me and I miss her every day."
Though Gustin said he can't pin down a favorite Relay memory, he enjoys getting to spend the day with his grandfather remembering his grandmother.
"One of the reasons that Relay is important to me is relay is a time that I can spend with my grandfather in person and with my grandmother in spirit," Gustin said. "Auburn students should get involved with Relay because its one of the few organizations that you can participate in that has effected almost every person on the planet in some way," Gustin said. "Everyone knows someone who has been effected by cancer. If its a sibling, parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or cousin, everyone knows someone who has been effected."
Gustin said he believe everyone can somehow relate to the struggles associated with cancer.
"It is one of the most common diseases on the planet and the more people that we have fighting to stop it the sooner we can find the cure, and we will find a cure," Gustin said. "We at Relay For Life will continue to fight until the words 'you have cancer' never have to be said again."
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