Transitioning from high school to college is a difficult task. For Timothy Tusick, though, the move was even more fraught. The winner of the John Foy & Associates Strong Arm Leukemia Scholarship, Tusick was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019.
Tusick was once a top-five prospect in his state’s high school wrestling world, but he started feeling a decline in his health as he started life at Kent State University. After serious fatigue, regular nosebleeds, and other issues, Tusick checked himself into his campus doctor’s office only to be rushed off to the local emergency room.
“The nurses there told me that I shouldn’t have been able to walk in that day, let alone be alive,” he wrote in his winning essay. “I had 1⁄4 the amount of blood a normal person should and my spleen was bigger than a football.”
Doctors told Tusick that it would take several years to recover from his leukemia diagnosis, and that he would be unable to exercise. “My doctors told me that I couldn’t work out anymore, that I was exercise intolerant, no public space with groups of people would be safe for me, and that I wouldn’t return to school for at least two and half years.”
But cancer had not reckoned that it would face a fighter like Timothy Tusick.
Tusick’s Extraordinary Recovery
Now, Tusick is “stronger than [he] was before cancer,” regularly runs 5k races to raise awareness and money for cancer research, and has been told by doctors that he can finish treatment a year early.
“I even returned to school in January 2020, only ten months after being diagnosed,” he wrote. Back at school, despite the fatigue common to cancer patients, Tusick made it onto the Dean’s List.
He was named the Honored Hero of 2021 by the Leukemia Lymphoma Society for his work raising more than $900,000 to fund cancer research. In an interview with representatives of John Foy & Associates, Tusick revealed that he plans to continue his work in the non-profit and cancer research sphere.
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Timothy Tusick’s Future Plans
As a business major at Kent State, Tusick plans to enter the management world following his graduation. After he has accrued sufficient experience, he plans to open his own business. However, during all of this, he still plans to work closely with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society and continue to raise money and awareness.
“Another goal I have is to become a motivational speaker,” he said in an interview. “I have shared my story on the news, in magazines, and all over the internet, as well as spoken at grade schools, high schools, and award ceremonies.”
His speaking endeavors highlight his own story, but they are designed to encourage others struggling with the battle against cancer. “I hope when people hear about it they look at life in a different perspective; one that allows them to always be grateful and to always believe in themselves,” he said.
John Foy & Associates is proud to award the $1,000 scholarship to a driven, passionate individual like Timothy Tusick, and we look forward to hearing about his continued work in the future.
You can read Timothy Tusick’s essay here.
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