Liz Bender seems like your average college sophomore. She loves spending time with her Phi Mu sorority sisters and getting down to business with her fellow Alpha Kappa Psi fraternity members. She enjoys the occasional pumpkin spice latte and a good pair of riding boots much like the rest of us Miami girls. But something sets this inspiring woman apart from the rest. Her passion for helping people with cancer, particularly children with the devastating illness, led her to shave her long brown locks to raise money for cancer research. Most of us can’t say that we would do the same. For some, long hair makes us feel secure. We change up our style maybe once every two years to show people we can be adventurous. Or maybe we convince ourselves that a drastic cut is just what we need when we begin a new chapter in our lives. For Liz, her hair was just another 10 minutes wasted in the shower. She says shaving her head was an easy way to raise money for such a worthy cause. Her Campus got to know this now-bald beauty and is recognizing her as this week’s campus celebrity.
Her Campus: When did you decide to do this?Liz Bender: It all started when I learned about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation about a year ago. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation raises money for children with cancer by volunteers shaving their heads. I also used to work at a kids camp and one of the counselors did it, so it’s always been in the back of my mind. I’ve always thought it was such an easy way to raise money for a great cause. I finally made the decision to pull the trigger when someone I worked with this summer did it to honor one of her family members who has cancer.
HC: Talk about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation in relation to what you did last week?LB: St. Baldrick’s allows people to create their own Baldrick’s events and all of the donations go to the same pot. Their biggest events are in March and a lot of high-schoolers do it. The Foundation was actually hosting an event on September 7, but it ended up not working out because there weren’t enough participants for the event. After that fell through, I decided to do my own informal event here on campus.
HC: When and how did you become interested in cancer research as a cause?LB: St. Baldricks’ cause resonated with me so much. Cancer affects everyone. I could get it or someone I know could get it. I’ve been fortunate enough that no one in my direct family has ever had it, but I know people’s parents who have had it and it’s a struggle to see people go through cancer treatments.
HC: What kind of response have you gotten and how much money have you raised?LB: I’ve gotten some head turns and double takes, but it doesn’t bother me at all. They aren’t really mean judgment looks, but just looks of confusion. [But] I don’t know, I’m pretty comfortable in my own skin. By Sunday I had raised $1,500 and that outweighs any weird look that I could ever get. Two random people asked me if I got sick, which I thought was sweet. Another person said they read the article in the Miami Student and they admired what I was doing. One of my teachers asked if I lost a bet, which I thought was hilarious.
HC: What did your family and friends think when you told them you were going to shave your head?LB: Family and friends were totally on board with it. It kind of stunned my dad, which was funny because he’s not very conservative. My grandma was a little freaked out. She told me that she would pay me more money to not shave my head, but I was already convinced at that point.
HC: What were you most nervous about leading up to shaving your head?LB: Well I wanted to be sure that I wasn’t making an impulsive decision, but in the end I knew I was going to miss having a ponytail (haha). I loved wearing my hair in a ponytail.
Another one of my apprehensions that was that people might think I was doing it for the wrong reasons. I didn’t want people to think I was sick. I’m not an attention seeker and what I did was basically the opposite of that mentality I guess. This has brought me out of my comfort zone and I hope that children with cancer will be better off because of the money this cause has raised. HC: How did the event go?LB: It was great! I invited my friends and family to come to Peffer Park on Sunday afternoon. There ended up being about 60 people there. At one point, I stood up on a picnic table and started crying because I was so grateful that people were coming out to donate and to experience this with me. One of my best friends Kailey Eaton buzzed my hair and I’m not going to lie, I screamed a little bit when she turned the razor on. I just really hope that this grabbed people’s attention to wake up a little bit. There are tons of causes to get inspired to act for.
HC: Do you miss your long locks yet?LB: I miss whipping my hair for sure, showers take like 2 minutes now, which is awesome … I don’t know if I’d go out of my way to buy a wig, but maybe I’ll get one for Halloween. I also miss curling my hair a little bit, but having no hair has already become pretty normal.
HC: You hope that this cause inspires other young people, but HC wants to know who inspires you the most?LB: I would have to say my dad because is an extremely hard worker and he is so down to earth. He just enjoys his time with the little things, like gardening and basketball. Things people take for granted. I kind of love that he’s not necessarily the cool hip parent (haha). He’s just traditional and I love him for that.