Max Hudetz
Hometown: Chicago, IL
University: University of Illinois - Chicago
Major: Studio Arts
BIOGRAPHY
My name is Max and I am 22 years old. I grew up in Belgium for a while, then in Yorkville, Illinois. I am currently a Junior enrolled in the Honors College at UIC, majoring in Studio Arts (drawing and painting). I plan to take my passion for art and anatomy and apply them toward a master's degree and a career in medical illustration--I like muscles and bones, and faces and hands. Prosthetics fascinate me. I enjoy running a great deal, and recently ran the Chicago Marathon with Team World Vision--a non-profit organization dedicated to providing clean water to communities in Africa. I'm also a big fan of hiking and the outdoors--I climbed the two tallest mountains in the Rockies (Elbert and Massive)with some friends and my brother last summer, and this summer I got to lead a group of Boy Scouts on a canoeing trip in Ely, Minnesota. I value meditation, coffee, friends, and family more than most things. I have a recurring dream where I lose my teeth. If I were a dinosaur, I'd be carnivorous. My favorite type of paintbrush is called a "filbert." My dog's name is Baby, and she is enormous. And the thing I am excited about more than anything is biking the Illini 4000.
PERSONAL STATEMENT
I have a friend from high school whose grandmother was diagnosed with lung cancer. It was hard for me to see her and her family struggle through it. I would hear about her chemotherapy treatments and the toll they were taking on her and her family, and I'd see how emotionally stretched-thin they were. My friend's grandmother passed away a few years ago, and at the funeral I empathized with her family but I knew that what I felt could not come close to what they did. This year my stepfather was diagnosed with Lymphoma. We were blessed to hear from the doctors that it was in control for the time being, and that there would not be anything to worry about for at least a decade. But for a few weeks it was torture and I was numb with fear and sadness and never-ending thoughts of the struggle of my friend's grandmother. I am riding the Illini4000 for my stepfather Adrian, because he has always, always been there for me and the rest of my family, and I want him to keep being there.