James Madison University - Bluestone Schoolmaam Yearbook (Harrisonburg, VA)

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Attayan stops to visit child cancer patients on his seven-week journey. At each hospital, he handed out ProJeKT 3000 wristbands and supplied hope to the families. Attayan hugs a child cancer patient during a hospital visit Upon his return to Harrisonburg he planned to continue raising awareness for pediatric cancer. 28 I Features

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Navid Attayan I 27 Pi

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Attayan rides down a country road. During his journey, he stopped in many towns and impacted many individuals ' lives along his way. ifth-year senior Navid Attayan set out on his cross-country bike trip on May 25 with one intention: to raise awareness about pediatric cancer. But by July 1 2, 48 days an d 3,058 miles later, he realized the trip became something else entirely. I set out on the journey expecting adventure, to do good and give people hope. But during it, it became somewhat about me, said Attayan. I ' ve never been so focused in my entire life. And focus was essential to Attayan ' s journey, especially since each of the seven states he traveled through forced him to overcome a different challenge. Virginia had the most hills, Arizona was the hottest and Kansas had the worst head winds and storms. Yet, despite all the physical challenges, Attayan believed the mental challenges were much worse. It was like I was being tested every single day, said Attayan. Every day was something new, and I never knew what to expect. By the end of his trip, Attayan had met countless patients and visited a total of 1 9 hospitals and treatment centers. At each stop, he went door- to-door visiting the children and their families, handing out ProJeKT 3000 wristbands, spreading hope and talking to doctors and nurses. One thing I realized is that cancer doesn ' t just affect the child, it affects the whole family, said Attayan. ' Tears would come running down [the families ' ] eyes when they saw me. These [patients] are in the hospitals all the time, and not just the kids, their entire family, too. I didn ' t think what I was doing was anything extraordinary. I didn ' t expect what I saw. Attayan ' s goal was to raise more money and awareness. In total, he raised approximately $1 2,500, all of which was donated to cancer research. After arriving in San Diego, he doubled his number of followers on Facebook, intending to use the site for more than just socializing. I ' m turning the [Facebook] page into more of an awareness campaign, said Attayan. I ' m taking the role of an advocate and using the fan base to drive serious awareness. Aside from being an advocate, Attayan prepared for his next phase of the project: biking the circumference of the moon, a total of 6,784 miles in 365 days. On average, each day he planned to bike about 20 miles, which he wanted to symbolize the fight cancer patients have to endure each and every day. My point is even if cancer isn ' t their cause, thafs OK. I want to inspire others to make their own projects to try to do good in any way they can, said Attayan. If everyone did his or her own little part, the world would be better. Navid Attayan I 29