This weekend, my girlfriend and I drove down to San Antonio to volunteer at the annual gala for Rebecca’s Wish, an incredible charity that raises awareness and provides healthcare to children with Pancreatitis. When we found out that Rebecca’s Wish needed volunteers for the gala, my girlfriend and I immediately made plans to go, as did a few of our friends (more on why later). Despite being incredibly sleep deprived, we had so much fun setting up the incredible venue, doing physics homework during breaks (not fun), helping run the auction, and breaking down the venue until 3 AM. Seeing the breadth of people that Rebecca’s Wish has helped bring together and hearing about their stories was truly impactful, and this will certainly not be the last gala I volunteer at. By the end of the day, an almost incomprehensible $500,000 and counting was raised for kids with Pancreatitis over the span of a few hours.

Before this summer, I knew almost nothing about Pancreatitis except that it sounded scary and somehow involved the Pancreas. That all changed when I met one of my best friends, Nick, on the Brown-Smith honors UK study abroad. We clicked right off the bat as we both loved sports, food, and Jesus, routinely sneaking out of the meager provided lunches to go and get our own proper portions of fish n chips. A couple nights into the trip, we were sitting in a common room talking about our Faith with all of our new friends. I left for a little over an hour to call my parents and shower, and when I came back I was greeted by a room of people who looked like they had just seen a ghost.

Next thing I knew, I was sitting on a couch unable to control my tears as Nick told me the full story of his sister Rebecca. While I highly encourage you to check out these links, there’s no article that can fully describe how much Rebecca and the entire Taylor family has gone through, and just how incredible their story is. When I met Rebecca for the first time a couple months later, she instantly became the smartest and most incredible person I’ve ever met and ever will meet. If you can’t read the full article, this excerpt should instantly make you realize what I mean:

“She is on track to finish her undergraduate degree early. She intends to earn a master’s degree in biochemistry at Harvard University, return to Texas A&M for a master’s degree in engineering and then earn a doctorate at the School of Engineering Medicine in Houston.” - Mike Reilly

Ummm what!? You, like I did, might be wondering how in the world that’s even possible. The answer? Coming into college with well over 100 AP Credits and a ridiculous work ethic. Keep in mind, she’s done all of this and so much more while being in and out of hospitals due to one of the most painful diseases in the world. If you’re still wondering how that’s possible, it’s because she’s Rebecca.