NDSU’s ninth annual “Battle of the Cents-es” will benefit a North Dakota teenager fighting cancer. The fundraising competition, which pits student ambassadors from the College of Engineering against student ambassadors from the College of Health Professions, is scheduled for March 25-29.
Students will collect donations at booths in the Memorial Union, the engineering complex and Sudro Hall. As part of the student competition, all change collected counts positively toward each student group’s total. Paper bills are subtracted from each group’s total. Last year’s event raised more than $5,600.
The fundraiser will benefit LJ Wells, an 18-year-old from Granville, North Dakota, who hopes to attend NDSU as a freshman in the fall of 2019. Wells was diagnosed with Adrenal Cortical Cancer in July 2018, a rare form of cancer that begins in the adrenal glands. Doctors later discovered the cancer had spread to his lungs, liver and possibly his heart.
He has undergone surgery and several rounds of chemotherapy in Fargo and is now trying a new medicine and receiving care through Colorado University.
“LJ has demonstrated a great deal of positivity and optimism throughout his fight and we have been inspired by him,” said nursing student Madison Lien, who is the special events chair of the Health Professions Ambassadors and a junior from Moorhead. “Battle of the Cents-es is an event that has the potential to make a positive impact on not only LJ, but the students, faculty and staff at NDSU. We look forward to bringing together two of NDSU's biggest colleges to raise as much money as possible for LJ.”
“This friendly competition is something I look forward to every year,” said Engineering Ambassadors president Rachel Vogl, a junior from Becker, Minnesota, who is majoring in civil engineering. “No matter which college wins, we are happy we’re able to support LJ.”
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