Adriana Estrada – San Antonio, Texas
Adriana has a passion for giving hope to those in need. Just over two years ago she accepted a position as a community engagement representative (CER) for the GenCure Marrow Donor Program (a non-profit) who works in partnership with Be The Match (America’s national bone marrow registry). She dedicates almost every waking hour to supporting families that have a loved one with blood cancers such as leukemia who need a transplant to survive. Understand that the job of a CER is to get people signed up to the registry, but Adriana goes above and beyond to help families go the distance to find a matching donor. She’s helped develop patient and college campaigns to spread awareness while giving students a hands on leadership opportunity to educate their peers. Some of these campaigns have been highlighted on the news locally as well as across Texas. She visits her patients in the hospital, works with the families even when a match isn’t found, and on her own time, attends funerals for the ones that didn’t make it. She gives hope in the most dire situations and is honored to be the first step in saving a life.