I am so excited to join the USACFA board this year! For the past few years I have enjoyed reading CF Roundtable and am a recipient of the Lauren Melissa Kelley (LMK) scholarship. I am 22 years old and have recently earned a B.A. with distinction in English from the University of Pennsylvania. In the fall, I will be attending University of Texas School of Law in Austin, TX. I spent many months in college fighting non‑tuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM) and am grateful to have made it to the other side. I am currently on Trikafta and am constantly amazed at the improvement I have seen in my health while on the drug. It has opened the door to a brighter future for CF patients.

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I was diagnosed with CF when I was one and a half years old. At that time there was very little knowledge about CF in my hometown of Tyler, TX and we did not even have a local CFF chapter. My family and I have worked hard to create awareness of the disease in Tyler and are proud to now have multiple local fundraising events throughout the year associated with the CFF. I have two younger twin brothers, both of whom are CF carriers only. After my diagnosis my mom did invitro with genetic testing to get pregnant with them.

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While at Penn I took many classes on creative writing and am really excited to be able to use that knowledge to help keep the CF community informed. In my final year of college, I completed an honors thesis which focused on telling the stories of CF patients. It was through that project that I learned of the wisdom and strength present within our community. I am constantly inspired by this community and am honored to fight this disease with you.