The American Cancer Society named Danielle Maurer, a senior in public administration, as a Hero of Hope in August.
Maurer is one of 20 Heroes. The Heroes are cancer survivors who were first nominated by another person.
Maurer calls it a "working honor," because the honorees are expected to attend functions and make speech during their time as a Hero of Hope.
"I just feel like it's important for people to do something they believe in," Maurer said. "And this is something I believe in."
Maurer was nominated for the position by Amanda Treadwell, a community representative with the American Cancer Society.
"Danielle has been a dedicated ACS volunteer for several years so I knew her well and worked with her on the AU Relay For Life," Treadwell said. "I knew that Danielle would be an excellent spokesperson for The American Cancer Society and would work hard to spread the word to fellow cancer survivors that we are here to help."
When Maurer was 15, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
The disease was still in stage one when Maurer was diagnosed, but her treatment lasted for about seven months.
"It sucked," Maurer said. "It wasn't until a few months into my chemo when my hair started to fall out I was like, 'Holy crap, I am sick.'"
Maurer's primary duty for the next year will be making motivational speeches as Hero of Hope.
"Danielle will be representing ACS as a cancer survivor and a student of Auburn University," Treadwell said. "She will be available for speaking engagements with schools, civic organizations and other volunteer groups."
Maurer said the 20 Heroes are delegated regions around the South, but can be asked to attend an event if another Hero is unable to make it.
While she said she thinks it's positive there seems to be so much cancer awareness, Maurer said people may have become desensitized to how serious it is because they hear about it so much.
"I feel like this program allows you to really sit and listen to someone who's been there," Maurer said. "This is really what happened, and this is how you can help someone like me so that it doesn't happen to someone else."
Maurer said she doesn't think she will be as busy in the fall as she will be in the spring.
Spring is when most Relay for Lifes are held, so she said she will be asked to attend more events then.
"I believe in the American Cancer Society's mission, and I believe in what Relay for Life stands for," Maurer said about why she wanted to be a Hero. "And my ultimate dream is to have Relay for Life, especially here in Auburn, just to be this huge, knock-out fundraiser."
Maurer said the Relay for Life Event in her hometown is a huge, community-wide event. Almost everyone in the town attends, and Maurer said her No. 1 goal as a Hero is to get more people involved in Relay for Life.
Relay for Life is an all-night cancer fundraiser that usually takes place in the spring. It lasts 12 hours and people form teams and walk during the night.
But Maurer said the event isn't just 12 hours of walking around a track.
The event is sometimes themed and features "goofy" walks as part of the event.
There is also the Luminaria Ceremony, which Maurer helps chair.
During the 30 - minute ceremony all the lights around the track and in the stadium are turned off, and lights inside bags are lighted around the track and inside the stadium.
The lights are meant to honor cancer victims and celebrate survivors.
Maurer said she wants to encourage more young cancer survivors to come to events like Relay because she says it's a place where they can find people who share their experiences.
"(Relay) is a fun time to celebrate life," Maurer said. "To celebrate the reason why we're here. I love Relay. I could not imagine a spring without Relay."
Maurer said her second goal is to open at least one person's eyes to how important eliminating cancer is.
"I feel like there's a reason I'm still here," Maurer said, "and I want to fulfill that purpose. And doing things like this helps fulfill that for me."
Like Maurer, Treadwell also wants to get more cancer survivors in the Auburn area connected with the ACS and relay for Life.
"With Danielle representing AU and ACS, we hope to reach out to area survivors and get them involved," Treadwell said. "We know that there are hundreds of cancer survivors on the AU campus and we hope to make our organization known to them."
Treadwell said those interested can e-mail her at amanda.treadwell@cancer.org.
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