Eric Hsieh

Eric is a sophomore at NYU.  In the summer of 2012 he is riding with a group of college students on a 70 day, 4000 mile bike ride from Baltimore to Seattle.

What is your connection with the cancer community?

My father died of a brain tumor when I was two years old, and while I didn’t have to suffer the comprehension of what was happening at the time, I grew up exploring the “what if’s” and “could have’s” of that loss. My family and I were fortunate enough to have a cast of incredible relatives and friends who willingly stepped into that void, and I’d like as much as possible to be there for someone else when it happens to them. More recently, my high school European History teacher (Mrs. Adrienne Phillips) passed away from breast cancer. Before her final days she inspired countless students with her knowledge of history and challenged us to reexamine our views of the world. I traveled with her to Ireland to study the Catholic/Protestant divide and to Poland and Czech Republic to look at Eastern European culture and the remnants of the Holocaust. She was a woman whose energy surpassed all expectations of age and it shocked me to see her in wheelchairs and beds instead of stubbornly chasing after the things she loved.

Why are you riding the 4K for Cancer?

In its indiscriminate universality, cancer victimizes everyone, whether from nearby or afar. I hope that finding a cure to cancer will be the next great feat of medicine, but until then, I’m determined to contribute in my own small way. I also believe that saying “yes” to something outside your comfort zone is among the healthiest things anyone can do. I want to be able to look back later in life and point out all the things I was willing to get up and do. So far I haven’t covered the four thousand mile bike ride yet. =)