2010 Award Winners

Announcement of Winners of the 2010 Award

The Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation has announced the winners of the 2010 Andre Sobel Award for Survivors of Pediatric Cancer and other Illnesses. Now in its ninth year, the Award invites teens who have survived serious illness to share their stories so that friends, family and others experiencing serious health challenges may learn from their experiences. In highly personal, wise, humorous and sometimes searing essays, teens reflect on how illness has changed their relationships, their outlooks and their lives.

Emily Ransom, of Burlington, VT, and a student a Boston College has won first place, and an award of $5,000 for her poem, “I had Cancer: Cancer Never Had Me.”

Second place winner is Colette Jaycox of Fremont, CA for her piece Chai. She attends Columbia University.

Arianna Elnes of Omaha NE, a student at Knox College in Illinois, is the third place winner. Her essay takes the form of a letter to her parents.

Joseph Tong, a student at Richard Montgomery High School in Gaithersburg MD, won an Honorable Mention. Joseph’s experience of writing for the award provided healing to his family as they revisited his childhood illness.

Over 225 teens from across the US submitted entries in response to the prompt: “Things I Have Needed to Tell You: My Experience with Illness and How it has Changed Me.” Winners’ essays will be posted at www.andreriveroflife.org and in the Impact Section of The Huffington Post over the next month.

Varian Medical Systems is the 2010 Award Sponsor.

The Andre Sobel Award is named for the teenage son of Valerie and Erwin Sobel who lost his life to a brain tumor at the age of 19. To honor his memory and his love for literature and writing, his mother created the Andre Sobel Award to reward young people who are survivors of catastrophic illness. The Award solicits voices of young survivors and provide catharsis through the process of writing about a life-altering time in a young person’s life. While Andre Sobel was not able to pursue his plans for college and beyond, it is the intention of the Andre Sobel Award that winners use their award funds in any way they choose to fulfill a cherished dream.