Rachael Venchus
Hometown: West Chicago, IL
University: University of Illinois
Major: Psychology
BIOGRAPHY
Hey hey! My name is Rachael Venchus and I am from West Chicago, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. I am a senior in psychology and I hope to ultimately get into prison and social justice reform with aspirations to facilitate in the reduction of mass incarceration occurring in our country. I highly enjoy drinking coffee, watching Netflix, making food, eating food (especially mac & cheese), listening to great music, reading great books, and petting dogs. But that aside, what better way to spend a summer than travelling across the country in support of Illini 4000 and its efforts to raise cancer awareness?
PERSONAL STATEMENT
Cancer is a disease that many people are faced with and affected by each and every day. My awareness to cancer and the importance of cancer research has been heightened within the last couple years as my younger cousin and a close family friend were diagnosed with leukemia and lymphoma respectively. My curiosity about the disease has since expanded. Both gentlemen fought hard for many years and both loving families did everything in their power to care for them. Something I learned a lot from was during a stem cell donor drive that was set up in our community in an effort to create awareness and increase the number of Hispanic donors who are often underrepresented in the donor pool. Seeing the pain people experience when faced with this battle, has motivated me to step up and help make an impact on the fight against cancer.