HOOS in Pink

Wow! I can’t believe Halloween is so quickly approaching and that October is almost over. Time flies when there are so many opportunities available on Grounds. This month has been full of colorful Fall leaves, football games, volunteer opportunities, and plenty of time to show your pink side (and I’m not just referring to October 3, aka National Mean Girls Day). This month clubs at UVA hosted a multitude of activities to show their support for Cancer Awareness.

I continuously strive to participate in as many activities as possible on Grounds because it’s a great way to get involved and make new friends! On October 13, Relay for Life at UVA held their annual Fight Cancer 5k. It was a wonderful opportunity to get some exercise, take a tour of Grounds, and raise awareness about cancer. Hundreds of students and guests participated in the event, and even if you didn’t want to run the 5k then you could raise awareness in other ways. The club sold “Relay for Life at UVA” bracelets, had a stand to sign up for the bone marrow registry, handed out every color ribbon to raise awareness about all cancers, and even had a hair streaking station. I loved that we were presented with the opportunity to get involved in so many activities at one event. My friends and I ran the 5k, and of course, we had to get pink streaks first, display our ribbons, and hang up a sign with the name of who “We Relay For…”

My friends and I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the Fight Cancer 5k and rocking the pink strands in our hair, but we couldn’t wait for the Pink Out at the Wake Forest versus University of Virginia football game on October 20. We went shopping at the University Bookstore, bought our “Hoos Think Pink” shirts, and couldn’t wait to show up at the game decked out in our pink apparel (especially since pink is my favorite color).

Although we were preoccupied with our thoughts about the football game and our pink attire, we’d made a commitment to volunteer at Pancakes for Parkinson’s. Pancakes for Parkinson’s is hosted each year on the lawn as a fundraiser for Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Students and the Charlottesville community participate in face painting, musical entertainment, mixing pancake batter, and of course, devouring thousands of pancakes. This year I painted faces and helped construct arts and crafts projects in the Kids’ Area while one of my friends mixed pancake batter. Pancakes provided me with a great opportunity to meet new people and just another way to get involved at UVA.

After Pancakes for Parkinson’s, I rushed back to Gooch-Dillard (my dorm) to change into my pink and prepare for GAMEDAY! My friends and I were decked out in pink and ready to watch the Hoos crush the Demon Deacons.  Unfortunately, we lost the game, but we still enjoyed watching the game from “The Hill” and cheering on the Cavaliers!