By Kelly Stewart
Opinions Editor

While the people who attended Relay for Life had a fun night of games and togetherness, the soft lights of the luminaries lining the small track were a sobering reminder of why the hundreds of people gathered – to raise money to fight cancer, a disease killing thousands of people every year and affects thousands more.

People of all ages turned out on April 28 to show their support for the relay and walk the track at Wagon Wheel Park. Coppell High School alone had over 400 students participating in the event and raised more than $9,000 to fight cancer.

“Personally, I was overwhelmed because I have not been to a relay before; that was my first time,” cancer survivor and CHS art teacher Ann Clark said. “I was totally astounded at what a big production it is. I know [art teacher Elsa Reynolds] is in charge of [the Relay] for Coppell High School, and I know she has worked really hard on it all year long, but I just did not know how big it was until I got there. It is a good opportunity, especially for cancer awareness.”

Reynolds is the captain of the art Relay for Life team and is also in charge of collecting donations from the many organizations and people here at CHS. She also distributes T-shirts to the people who were able to raise more than $75 for the Relay.

There were countless CHS students at the relay who were with either a class or a school organization.

“[The Relay] is really lively, and it really brings a lot of young people to the cause,” senior and president of I Dare to B club Hasika Sarathy said. “Which I think is important because it does not really do anything if the only people that are involved are older people. It is good to bring awareness to the younger people on because of the effects of cancer on our society.”

The Relay begins, as it always does, with opening ceremonies, where survivors have the opportunity to talk about their experiences, as well as the survivor’s lap with their close friends and caregivers around the track.

“I know they had a lot of the survivors come up on stage and speak about what kind of cancer they had and how long they had been in remission or how far they are in their treatment,” Clark said. “It is a real honorable thing, and the crowd was very supportive every time someone got up and said ‘I had cancer for four years and this is what I had’ and the crowd would be really happy and cheer them on.”

Throughout the night there were many things to do that added to the general fun atmosphere of Relay. From the games to the large game of soccer to the Mr. Relay competition where boys representing different groups dress in drag, everything added a sense of togetherness.

As part of the art club, senior Michelle Yi helped decorate the Relay track with chalk drawings and became involved in Relay for Life that way.

“Mr. Relay was pretty cool to watch,” Yi said. “I also liked doing the chalk drawings [on the track]. Last year I did Wonder Woman, and this year I did Lucy. But one of the people doing the Mr. Relay event is my boyfriend, so I’m not really sure how to feel about that.”

The Relay lasted all night and into the next morning, as participants passed the time with events or just sat and shared their own experiences about how cancer affected their lives.

But among all the happiness and togetherness and the celebration of life comes a sobering reminder of how your life can change, even in an instant.

“We all take our health for granted,” Clark said. “I never thought I would get cancer, ever.”

Relay For Life Photo Gallery:

Photos by Trevor Stiff