A team of UW-Madison students will join 45,000 runners in this Saturday's Bank of Chicago Marathon to honor a pharmacy student who died suddenly last semester.
UW-Madison student Adam Nickel, 27, died just after he crossed the finish line at the Little Rock Marathon March 2. Nickel was in his third year studying pharmacy, and had been running marathons to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training program in honor of his grandmother who died of lymphoma in 2002.
Nickel had already raised over $3,800 and was training for the San Diego Marathon at the time of his death.
In the months following his death, members of the UW-Madison pharmacy community have launched many fundraisers in his memory. One such fundraiser is this weekend's Chicago Marathon. The team has raised thousands of dollars for TNT.
Pharmacy student Sarah Balzar has raised $2,840 for TNT. During her race, Balzar said she will draw inspiration from Nickel's attitude.
He was extremely dedicated and put his heart into everything he did. He always finished what he started, and he finished it strong,"" Balzar said in a statement.
The School of Pharmacy awarded Balzar with the first Adam Nickel Memorial Scholarship for her dedication.
Pharmacy student Ashley Liegel has also raised money for TNT. She said Nickel told her to consider TNT last winter because she also had personal ties to the cause.
""My grandfather died of leukemia when I was in grade school, and that really affected many aspects of my childhood growing up on his family farm,"" Liegel said in an e-mail.
""Plus as a future pharmacist, I feel it is very important for us to take an active role as patient advocates and [inform] the public about these diseases, treatments and resources available to those affected by blood cancers,"" she said.
In addition to the marathon, the Remembering Adam Nickel Charity Bash raised more than $3,000 Sept. 19. According to Diane Stojanovich, the director of communications for the School of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy student organizations, the student senate and the dean's office organized the charity event and students Ann Walterman and Berook Addisu co-coordinated it.
