BIOGRAPHY

Hello! My name is Jaime Kelleher and I am currently a junior in Materials Science and Engineering with a concentration in polymers. I grew up in Western Springs, IL with my parents and my older sister. As a kid, I always loved building things and playing outside, and I was involved with my community children’s theatre for ten years. I joined the Illini 4000 my freshman year, and was a member of the 2010 Bike America Team. I’m super excited to be serving as the Director of Information and to be leading the ride in 2012! In addition to cycling, I love baseball and softball. Last spring/summer, I played for a German baseball team, the Garching Atomics, while I was living in Munich, Germany. I love traveling and learning about other parts of the world, and have been fortunate enough to pursue that quite a bit. I spent my entire sophomore year studying abroad in Munich, which was truly a unique and amazing experience. I made some awesome friends from all over the world, and I was able to travel to a lot of different places. I also enjoy SCUBA diving (especially with sharks!) I plan to continue learning foreign languages and traveling for the rest of my life.

PERSONAL STATEMENT

Throughout my life, I have had a variety of experiences with cancer. I have had both family members and friends suffer from cancer and have seen other family members and friends be hurt by the suffering of their loved ones as well. I am saddened by the sheer number of people affected by cancer, but I am happy that I am able to do something to significant to help out with the fight. By participating in the 2012 Illini 4000 Bike America Team, I am excited to raise money and spread awareness across the country, as well as help the rest of my teammates have as amazing of an experience as I did on the 2010 ride. I think it is important for everyone to understand and be involved in the fight against cancer because it simply cannot be won without the help of everyone. I look forward to continue working on the Portraits Project this year to hear to peoples’ stories and share them with the world. I would like to dedicate this ride to every child who has lost a parent too soon and to every parent whose child has been taken away by this terrible disease. I dream of a world where no parent or child would ever have to endure such pain, and I am glad to be involved in the fight to achieve that.