In preparation for Relay For Life, one team was chosen out of the hundreds participating at Virginia Tech to shine a little light on the process of preparing for the event. Hundreds of teams, one event, thousands of stories - this is simply one of them.
Anna Tobia, a freshman hailing from Philadelphia, has spent the past three years of her life perpetually surrounded by Relay For Life.
"My sister Liz goes to Georgetown (University), and she has been doing Relay since she was a freshman, so I have been going to Georgetown events since I was a junior in high school," Tobia said.
But even with this extensive RFL experience, the cause itself had never really hit her.
"Two of my great aunts had passed away from lung and skin cancer, but they died when I was 7 and then when I was 10, so it was hard to be really affected," Tobia said, "So my junior and senior years when I did Relay atmy high school I just don't think it had really hit me."
But earlier this year, tragedy struck Anna's life in a way she will never forget. Anna's grandmother Rita Tobia, or "Mummum," lost her battle with breast cancer on Valentine's Day at the age of 82.
"She was never sick, until she actually was," Tobia said. "Even when she was in hospice, she was hilarious. She was always making everyone around her laugh."
All Anna could do was sit on the couch remembering fond memories of the woman for whom she Relays.
"She held out for after Friday 13," Anna said. "She was just a loud Italian woman who was always saying, 'Eat more!' We just loved being around each other."
Anna went home to grieve with her family in Philadelphia, but returned with a determination to raise as much money as she could for the American Cancer Society.
Donations came pouring in from family members, and sibling rivalry only added to the drive to fundraise.
"Liz and I have always been kind of competitive, and she is one of the directors for Georgetown's Relay For Life, so we have been competing a little bit to see who can raise more," Anna said. "I mean, it's not that bad if we're getting competitive, because I figure it's all going to a good cause."
Relay For Rita is currently in fifth place in the standings for all of the teams participating in Tech's Relay, a sizable accomplishment for a team composed entirely of freshmen, most of who are participating in RFL for the first time. So far they have raised $4,473 for the American Cancer Society, and they are looking to raise more at the event itself.
Anna has even become one of the top five individual fundraisers for the entire VT Relay. Anna employed the people on her hall as a means of Relay funds.
"I put a vase outside my door in my hall, and I put up signs all over the place asking for spare change and posters trying to get people involved, and I covered bulletin boards with signs for Relay," Anna said. "It was a little hard to motivate people, even on my own team sometimes because we are freshmen and some of them have never been to a college Relay For Life, so they don't really get how big of a deal it is yet."
But motivation was never a problem for Anna.
"I felt so corny, I wrote 'change lives' on the side of the vase and put up really cheesy posters begging people to donate," Anna said with a laugh, "But it really paid off because I got over $30 from that vase. Who knew all those pennies really add up?"
The team held weekly meetings to plan out the event, its own theme, camping plans, and who was going to bring what in terms of food. But it was more than just planning - it was friends, some of whom have known each other since the sixth grade, coming together for a cause.
"We really are just a bunch of friends trying to raise some money," Anna said. "We have a really great plan for fund raising at Relay, our theme is
MargaRITAville, and we're going all out. We have baby pools, a ton of leis, and a great tent with a huge poster hanging off the front of it. I got really crafty."
It's at these meetings that some of the team members also share why they choose to do Relay.
Mina Dombalagian sat next to Anna and willingly stepped up to offer her story first.
"I did RFL in high school, and I was always involved with activities for cancer awareness and research," she paused before she went on, "My uncle passed away a month ago from cancer. I was very close to him."
It was obvious that her emotional ties to Relay were just as strong as her fearless leader's.
Emily Hagen also offered her story, speaking about her four years of experience in high school RFL.
"One of my best friend's little sister had cancer; she passed away my senior year. She's really the reason why I've been doing this for so long," Hagen said. "I also lost my grandmother to cancer."
She went on to talk about her rather unorthodox method of fundraising.
"I kind of duped my parents, I sent them both e-mails and didn't tell them that the other one had gotten an e-mail also," Hagen laughed. "And so they both cut me checks for $50. When my mom called to tell me that she sent the money I was just like, 'That's funny, dad sent one, too.' It was pretty funny."
Whitney Leet, another team member, is going through the process of Relay for the first time.
"I was friends with Anna, and I heard from her that she was forming a team," Leet said. "Also, recently my aunt was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer and three of my family members are participating in Relay at all different colleges."
That seemed to be a common thread among most of these teammates - Relay For Life is a family affair. Multiple family members from people on the team are traveling, mostly from Philadelphia, to help out with the event and show their support.
"My parents were really coming down for the Spring Game," joked Chris Lowry, "But I convinced them to come support me at Relay for a little bit."
Lowry went on to explain that this is his first time in Relay, and has been very fortunate to not have been affected personally by cancer.
"I really didn't have any personal experiences when it came to cancer, I just all of a sudden got a Facebook message from Anna asking me to be on the
team," Lowry said. "Seeing her get so excited about it really got me excited for Relay."
Eric Karn, another team member, also brought family in on his Relay experience, although not in the way that he had initially expected.
"I was really surprised when my brother donated $50," Karn said. "Especially because he is just out of college and has to pay off a ton of loans. It was just really cool."
Anna is not alone when it comes to experiencing the loss of a grandparent. Eric has shared that tragedy.
"I've lost three relatives to cancer, two of my grandparents and my uncle died this past summer," Karn said. "Stuff like Relay is just about giving."
Courtney Roy, a friend of Anna's since the pair was barely out of elementary school, expressed how she was motivated simply through their strong friendship.
"I have never lost anyone to cancer, so I feel really fortunate," Roy said. "I have known Anna for so many years, that I wanted to help."
Tobia herself just returned from Georgetown's RFL event, attending to support her sister in her last year as a director.
"Pretty much my whole family was there," Tobia said, "But they can't really make it to mine, which is not that big of a deal. I told them that they can come when I'm a director, but it's also good because they feel bad for not coming and send more money."
With a full team of 18 ready to storm the Drillfield Friday at 6 p.m., they are anxiously awaiting friends and family pouring in, stocking up on warm clothes, food, mini grills, and baked goods to sell.
"I got Apples to Apples at Target, I can't wait." Tobia said.