When another member of Her Campus reached out to me to write an article on Tyler Trent, I first felt honored to be able to speak about such an inspiring person, student, friend, and leader. But, honestly, I was not sure I could handle it, as there is nothing I can say on paper that can even begin to encompass Tyler Trent.
On January 9th, I attended Tyler’s memorial on campus, to stand in unity with over 2,000 other Boilermakers to honor and celebrate his life. I walked up, and the entirety of the student body was silent, almost as if no one knew what to say. It is hard to lose someone so young with so much potential, it just does not seem fair. As we lit the candles, and the choir sang the alumni song, I looked to my friend, who had worked with Tyler closely through Purdue University Dance Marathon. Like many others, she knew Tyler had done more in his 20 years then most will do in their entire lifetime. She knew that his faith was strong and when she prayed to God that night to watch over him, she asked her late grandmother to bake him cookies in Heaven tonight to keep him company. For those who have faith, there is no doubt in their mind that Tyler is in heaven, probably helping people there too.
Myself, like many others, think it is unfair that such a young, spirited soul had to pass away so soon. But Tyler never cared about his life not being fair, he just lived graciously with the cards he had been dealt. I cannot say that I honestly knew Tyler, just because I had a class with him last year, but I can say that even when it was snowing and freezing outside, I would see him on time, crutches in hand, smiling and ready to learn. Some days I would roll into class, pushing being late, hair looking crazy, tired and complaining about how tired I was, but then I would see Tyler. I would think about how every minor challenge I face, seem a little less stressful in the big scheme of things.
It was fitting, last night, that in President Daniels’ farewell speech, he said, “Next time you confront a big challenge, Tyler will be there to help you meet it.” This I believe is true. Even though he did not survive cancer, he beat it in every other sense of the term. He never asked for sympathy, never let it impact his quality of life, but rather used his talents to create a foundation for cancer research, to write books, to attend Dance Marathon, to help others, to fight for the cure, and many other countless things. In that sense, he did beat cancer by the way he lived. The next time that any of us are struggling with homework, friend and family drama, internships, etc. I want you to think of Tyler, and his ability to overcome such a daunting task. If you have time, I recommend checking out Mitch Daniels’ speech, located here.
https://www.jconline.com/story/news/2019/01/09/tyler-trent-grit-personif…
Most of the nation knows Tyler’s story, and the magnificent and selfless strides he has taken to raise money for cancer research, and to show the entire nation what it truly means to be a boilermaker.