If you’ve been on Twitter recently, you may have seen trending hashtags like #1more4Lauren or #Layup4Lauren; you may have even wondered what the hashtags meant. Lauren was a high school senior from Cleveland Ohio who always loved playing basketball. She committed to play Division III college ball on her 18th birthday at Mount St. Joseph in Cleveland, Ohio. What she didn’t realize…was that her experience would be unlike anything anyone’s ever witnessed. Lauren Hill is an inspiration; she is an inspiration not just to the basketball world, but also to all of us.
While playing her senior year of high school, Lauren started experiencing some abnormal symptoms, similar to that of a concussion. When Lauren went to get her symptoms checked out, the results changed her life forever.
Doctors found an inoperable brain tumor, attached to her brain stem; giving her under a year to live. Lauren’s one dream was to play in a college basketball game and she still wanted to achieve it. The NCAA granted the request to move up the game, giving her the best possible chance to make this dream a reality. The game was moved to Xavier University after it sold out in ten minutes, so she would also play in front of 10,000 fans (including many celebrities). She’s shared her story all over the country and all over social media, and the awareness about her and her disease continues to grow.
The Illinois Wesleyan and Illinois State Women’s Basketball teams heard about Lauren, and immediately wanted to do something to help; they wanted to let the family know that from Central Illinois, people were thinking about them during these tough times. So together, the two Universities right here in our community put together a video to send to the Hill Family. Female student athletes from both schools gathered on the Wesleyan football field to put together her number, 22. To see the final product, watch the video below!
On November 2, 2014, Lauren’s dream came true when she played in her first collegiate basketball game, and scored four points. This day was the finale of Hill’s dream not just to play in one college basketball game, but also to raise awareness for Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, or DIPG. Lauren’s bravery, courage, perspective, and celebration of life impacted people all over the nation. Few people will remember the score of the game that day, but people will not forget the impact of number 22 and the power of one. Some people play the game; others change it.