What I learned on a West Texas highway. by Kensington

What I learned on a West Texas highway. by Kensington - March 2026 Scholarship Essay

The scent of sage drifted through our van as we dodged tumbleweeds on a West Texas highway on the way to Big Bend National Park. My mom’s phone rang with another unknown number, and I silently hoped she would ignore it. Instead, she answered with her usual warm and cheerful “Hello?” It was another stranger with cancer wanting some of her encouragement, positivity, and hope. In that moment, I felt torn between admiration for her kindness and frustration that she never seemed to save any energy for herself. Now I see that day as the start of what I am most proud of. I am proud of continuing her legacy through “Help on the Way!”

In May 2018, my mom was admitted to the hospital for what was supposed to be an elective hysterectomy. Three days later, she was discharged with a diagnosis of stage IV metastatic breast cancer that had spread to her ribs, sternum, spine, liver, and lymph nodes. I was ten, and my new normal became scans, treatments, and hospital stays. Instead of giving up, Mom tried everything from traditional chemotherapy to holistic and experimental treatments like mistletoe therapy and hyperthermia.

She still cooked dinner with Grateful Dead music playing and kept a smile on her face. Her faith in Jesus and her desire to help others led her to start “Help on the Way!”, a small community fund to support local families facing cancer. Through “Help on the Way!”, she covered the rent for a woman with pancreatic cancer, bought a washing machine for a woman with breast cancer, and handed out gas cards in the infusion clinic so patients could afford to get to treatment.

When Mom died in December 2021, I lost my best friend, and my family lost its financial stability. My dad had been her caregiver and they had spent their savings on treatment. I enrolled in dual enrollment during my junior and senior years to get ahead and lower my college costs. When I graduate in May, I will have earned more than seventy college credits. I also work thirty hours a week as a sterilization technician at Gallagher and Kuhn Dental Group to help pay for school.

Through all of this, the thing I am most proud of is helping keep my mom’s “Help on the Way!” alive. My dad, my brother, and I have continued the fund to make sure her kindness does not end. This year, we have been able to give nearly $3,000 to local individuals and families facing cancer. We were able to cover six months of laundry service for a nurse with two young kids who recently lost her husband. It didn’t erase her loss, but it was a tangible way to help lighten her burden.

My greatest accomplishment isn’t an award or title. It’s choosing every day to turn my hardest experiences into small practical acts of love for others. That is how I honor my mom, and that’s what I am most proud of.