William Jetton

As a healthy cross-country runner, William Jetton never expected to receive a cancer diagnosis at 14. But a month after he did, William underwent a six-hour surgery at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to remove 42 cancerous lymph nodes and his entire thyroid gland.  The surgery left one laryngeal nerve paralyzed and half of William’s airway permanently closed.

“I forced myself to make a decision that changed my future reality,” wrote William in his scholarship application essay. “I chose not to allow the diagnosis to define me. I chose to define my diagnosis. I wanted to become the fastest runner on my team. I wanted my life to be defined by success, not mediocrity. I wanted to be known as an overcomer, not a quitter.”

And overcame he did! In the Spring of 2020, William ran a minimum of 8 miles and biked 20 miles daily to make a disciplined effort towards his objectives. Today, William is starting at the University of Florida where he will study Accounting, asserting the same focus and effort he applied to his athletic performance to his academic goals.