At 16 years old, Jennifer “Jenny” Vasquez’s biggest concern should have been picking out the perfect prom dress – not surviving three cycles of chemotherapy for B-cell lymphoma.

But in the midst of her treatment, an unexpected offer came from the Make-a-Wish Foundation – a nonprofit organization that grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses. Two volunteers visited Vasquez’s home to ask what dream she would like to come true.

“I was always interested in traveling abroad,” Vasquez said. “I was just like, ‘I’d love to go to Europe.'”

The following summer of 2006, she received her wish; the foundation gave her family a free trip to Italy to explore the art galleries and forget about her cancer for a short while.

Today, Vasquez is a senior communication major at Shady Grove celebrating what will be her seventh cancer-free year. Saturday morning, she joined hundreds of other volunteers at Comcast Center for the first annual Mid-Atlantic Walk for Wishes to raise money to grant more children the same life-changing experiences.

“My mom, she always told me, ‘You have to share your story,'” Vasquez said. “I never really knew what to do with it particularly, I never really knew how to go about it. So with this event, it was perfect, it was ideal. It was a way for me to give back to a foundation that did something really amazing for my family and I and a way to raise awareness for the cause.”

When Vasquez first found out the Walk for Wishes was coming to this campus, she immediately signed up as a team leader for the walk and worked to rally her fellow students in support. As the director of social media for the Undergraduate Communication Association at Shady Grove, she launched a campaign via Facebook and Twitter and also posted fliers throughout her campus to spread the word.

As a result, Vasquez said donations for the organization flooded in. By 2 a.m. Saturday, her team passed their goal of raising $1,000 for the foundation.

“What ultimately we’re here for is the children and just to make an impactful difference, just to put a smile on these children’s faces, because I know at the end of the day that’s really what it’s all about,” Vasquez said.

That “impactful difference” is one Vasquez knew all too well. She can still remember the fear and confusion she felt when she first went to the hospital with swollen tonsils only to learn she had cancer as a high school junior.

“It was bad, like all the stages – denial, refusing to accept it. It’s like, ‘Why me, why is this happening?'” Vasquez said. “At the end of the day, I feel that it’s an experience that allows you to grow spiritually and emotionally as well. You bond with everyone in your family and you obtain family members.”

Vasquez and her family credit the Make-A-Wish Foundation, her faith and the doctors and nurses at Georgetown University Hospital for helping to give her the strength to overcome her situation.

“We can now support other families in the same situation with their children,” said Aracely Vasquez, Jenny’s mother. “It means a lot to us. It gives hope for children with deadly illnesses.”

Vasquez’s nine team members said they were more than happy to walk with her in a show of support alongside the hundreds of students, families and community members who walked through the Comcast Center on Saturday.

“It was great to find a cause to help grant wishes and that is a part of her story,” said Autaum Hollinger, a senior communication major at Shady Grove. “Really, we’re here for Jenny.”

villanueva@umdbk.com