BIOGRAPHY

Hello everyone! My name is Calen and I’m a junior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My major is Math and Computer Science and I’m also working on a minor in Astronomy. I haven’t decided if I want to go to grad school after college yet. In addition to my classes and being on the Illini 4000 bike team, I am a part of the Portraits Project and am a Course Assistant for Computer Science 125 here at the University of Illinois. In the little free time I do have, I like to spend time with my friends and family, watching or playing soccer, and listening to audio books. I think this summer is going to be fantastic because I’ll get to meet new people and make new friends.

PERSONAL STATEMENT

I heard about Illini 4000 through a friend who was on the bike team. He had told me about the ride and once I saw pictures of it and the people he interacted with, I knew that I had to become a part of it too. Even more though, I wanted to help get the stories of people affected by cancer out to everyone because there are so many untold stories. I wasn’t able to make the ride last year, so I joined the Portraits Project to help edit and bring together so many different people’s stories. This year is the year I can actually make the 70ish day ride. One of the main reasons I want to do the ride is to show my support to my high school soccer coach who has fought against cancer: Casey Decaluwe. He was a huge role model for me in high school and he was like a second dad and was always there if I needed anything. Doing this ride is my way of thanking him for everything he’s done for me.