For the last two years, Chris Abeleda was in the spotlight.
He stood on stage and told his story — a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in January 2013. But Thursday, he wasn’t on stage.
Instead, he was everywhere. He was directing organizations, making phone calls and talking to cancer survivors at the annual Light the Night Walk as a director for the event, an event where he had previously been honored. The walk, which began and ended at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, raised money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Abeleda was one of several directors behind the walk, which was sponsored by the UF chapters of Pi Delta Psi Fraternity and the PreMed American Medical Student Association.
Abeleda, 21, said the walk meant everything to him.
"It’s really full circle for me, and I wanted to make it the best it could be," the UF psychology senior said.
About 1,000 people attended the walk, which was personal for many.
Cassandra Imrie, a 20-year-old health education and behavior junior, was at the walk registering students to become bone marrow donors through the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation.
Imrie also walked for her mother, who was diagnosed with leukemia her freshman year.
"I’ve literally never seen someone so sick in my entire life," she said.
Her mother has been cancer-free for about a year after receiving a bone marrow transplant through Gift of Life, prompting Imrie to become involved in the organization, she said.
Her booth was one of about 20 student and community organizations that had games, food and raffles on the north lawn of the stadium before the walk. There were also live student performances.
Anyone could participate, but registered walkers who raised more than $100 received a free shirt and lantern. The lanterns were for supporters, survivors and loved ones who had died from cancer.
The theme of the walk was simple: "Hope is Alive."
"There’s no greater weapon than hope because to hope is to live, and to hope is to be alive," said Gabe Abreu, who helped Abeleda organize the walk.
Abreu, a 20-year-old UF mechanical engineering junior, held a yellow lantern while walking. It was in memory of his mother, who passed away from stage-four breast cancer Sept.10.
"We have to remind ourselves that hope will always be there," he said.
Hundreds of supporters, patients and survivors of leukemia and lymphoma walked with colored lanterns at the Light the Night Walk on Oct. 22, 2015, outside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Red lanterns marked supporters, yellow lanterns signified those who had lost a loved one and white lanterns indicated survivors and patients. The event raised money to fund research to find blood cancer cures.
