Nine years ago, while my daughter, Alexa, was in active treatment for a rare pediatric cancer, Sequoya held its first St. Baldrick's event in her honor under the leadership of Mrs. Doreen Schaefer and Ms. Jennifer Jargo. I cannot describe to you the raw emotion I felt as I sat in Sequoya's auditorium watching our administration, staff, students, community members and volunteers come together to make this event a success. Sequoya was not only where I worked, it became "home" for me and my colleagues became my family. Sadly, our "home" closed, but now I have a new home at my original school-Sagamore.  While Sequoya is no longer a part of Sachem, the love, dedication and amazing events that have occurred over the years will forever live inside that building, as well as in our hearts. Going through what we did as a family and watching our three year old daughter fight for her life forever changed us. I will never forget the life lessons I learned all those years ago. I have been an educator for twenty years. I am proud to say that one of my most influential teachers is my daughter, Alexa. Alexa taught us all how to live as she led the way in her own fight against cancer. She smiled through her pain, laughed through tears and never gave up as she fought with everything she had inside of her. She watched as her little friends lost their battles. This is something no child should ever have to experience. In August of 2015, Alexa lost her beloved Poppy to cancer. We were supposed to leave for a family cruise the day he passed away. My father in law set sail on his own and we were heartbroken. He fought a valiant fight and we miss him dearly. Two months later, Alexa lost her Aunt Sherrie to a rare pediatric cancer. My amazing sister was diagnosed with a childhood Ewing's Sarcoma which only occurs in one percent of adults. We were once again devastated. We are raising money in the fight against pediatric cancer and hoping that one day we can find a cure for all types of cancer.  None of this would be possible without the leadership of Mr. Panasci and Ms. Gregory. Mr. Panasci has shaved his head every year since we began this event nine years ago. We have teachers, students and staff who have shaved their heads year after year raising thousands and thousands of dollars. Thank you to everyone involved, especially  to Mr. Jay Berger for chairing our event this year and to Ms. Danielle Alexander and Ms. Anna Gustavsen. We are forever grateful to each and every person who has donated, helped, shaved, prayed and educated. Please help make this year at Sagamore the most successful year yet. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.