Jennifer Bau, fourth-year medical student in the Penn State College of Medicine, will participate in the St. Anthony's Olympic Distance Triathlon on April 25 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Through participation in this triathlon, she pledged to raise $3,500 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in honor of Steven Baron, former executive director and chief operating officer of Penn State Hershey Medical Center who died last year following a long battle with lymphoma. Baron also participated in triathlons, making a connection to the event even more logical to Bau, who sought the blessing of Baron's family before committing to the event.
"Despite his many responsibilities, Steven Baron took the time to get to know medical students. He helped my classmates and me to start Penn State Hershey's Community Service Month," said Bau, who said she also is running in the triathlon to help advance research toward a cure for leukemia and lymphoma.
"While I was working with a cancer doctor here at Penn State Hershey, one of his patients asked him, 'I always hear about your research. What exactly is this research about?,'" said Bau. "Instead of offering explanations about pluripotent stem cells and DNA the doctor smiled at his patient and replied, 'Research is about hope.' I watched the patient smile contentedly at this explanation. It was actually the answer that he had been looking for all along."
Money raised will go directly to the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Anyone interested in supporting Bau's effort should contact Student Affairs (x4103).