{"id":1731,"date":"2026-04-27T14:35:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T14:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/?p=1731"},"modified":"2026-04-27T14:35:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T14:35:57","slug":"survivor-advocate-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/2026\/04\/27\/survivor-advocate-student\/","title":{"rendered":"Survivor to Advocate: Emily Price Leads with Purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"
When Emily Price arrived at Marshall University, she already knew she wanted to make an impact. What she didn\u2019t yet know was how deeply her past would shape her purpose.<\/p>\n

\"Emily<\/p>\n

A biology and health sciences major on a pre-med track from Madison, West Virginia, Emily plans to graduate in 2028 and hopes to become a pediatric hematology oncologist. Her passion for helping others is rooted in lived experience. As a childhood cancer survivor, she wants to help others going through similar experiences, and it wasn\u2019t difficult for her to decide that Marshall would be the perfect place to prepare for that purpose.<\/p>\n

Emily knew she wanted to stay in West Virginia for college, but her visit to Marshall sealed the decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I toured campus my senior year, I fell in love with the environment,\u201d she said. \u201cI already knew Marshall had strong medical and health sciences programs, and once I saw the campus and the opportunities here, I knew this was where I wanted to spend my next four years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her first major milestone came quickly after applying: earning a spot as a Marshall majorette. After months of preparation and intense tryouts, hearing she made the team was unforgettable.<\/p>\n

\"Emily<\/p>\n

\u201cI was over the moon,\u201d she said. \u201cIt felt like all of my hard work paid off.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of her favorite memories followed soon after, during her first Marshall band camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like something out of a movie,\u201d Emily said. \u201cWe were performing at sunset during our first full run of pregame, and it was my first real taste of Marshall. I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was an unforgettable start to her Marshall experience, a new chapter in a life already filled with challenges.<\/p>\n

At just 10 years old, Emily was diagnosed with Biphenotypic Acute Leukemia, a rare and aggressive form of childhood cancer. After beginning treatment in Charleston, she was transferred to Nationwide Children\u2019s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, where doctors determined she needed a bone marrow transplant to survive.<\/p>\n

A match was eventually found \u2014 a college student from Poland. After four rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, Emily eventually found herself in remission.<\/p>\n

For years, she didn\u2019t want to revisit that chapter of her life.<\/p>\n

\n\tIf I can help families understand what they\u2019re going through and give kids hope because I\u2019ve been there too, that means everything.<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t- Emily Price<\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

\u201cFor the longest time, I wanted nothing to do with my diagnosis,\u201d Emily said. \u201cBut in high school, I realized I could use what happened to me to help someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

That realization has helped shape Emily\u2019s career goals and sparked her passion for advocacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I can help families understand what they\u2019re going through and give kids hope because I\u2019ve been there too, that means everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since arriving at Marshall, Emily has immersed herself in campus life. Emily is actively involved in student government, works as a social media ambassador, founded the campus chapter of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) and spent the last year reviving Dance Thunder, a campus-wide fundraiser for the Hoops Family Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n

\"Emily<\/p>\n

Emily attended the NMDP Volunteer Advocacy Summit in Minneapolis and later traveled to Washington, D.C., to speak with lawmakers about the importance of donor registry funding and awareness.<\/p>\n

On campus, she and her team regularly recruit students to join the donor registry. The impact of her efforts has already been life changing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had students call me and say they\u2019re a match for someone,\u201d she said. \u201cOne of my sorority sisters donated. I was jumping up and down when she told me. It\u2019s the most incredible feeling to know someone\u2019s life might be saved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily also led the effort to revive Dance Thunder this spring, Marshall\u2019s dance marathon benefiting children and families facing pediatric cancer. After more than a year of planning, meetings and collaboration across campus and the Huntington community, the event raised thousands of dollars and spread awareness of childhood cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cDance Thunder is more than just a dance marathon,\u201d Emily said. \u201cIt represents something larger than any one individual. It\u2019s unity, advocacy and action for children and families facing pediatric cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s the most incredible feeling to know someone\u2019s life might be saved.<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t- Emily Price<\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

She and her team are already planning for the future, hoping to expand events, increase student involvement and grow the impact across campus and the community.<\/p>\n

As Emily approaches the 10-year anniversary of her bone marrow transplant, the milestone feels both emotional and inspiring.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a reminder that I\u2019m here for a reason,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are still people searching for donors, and I want to help them find hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through leadership, advocacy and service, Emily is transforming her experience into a mission that reaches far beyond campus \u2014 proving that sometimes the most powerful purpose can grow from life\u2019s greatest challenges.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Emily Price arrived at Marshall University, she already knew she wanted to make an impact. What she didn\u2019t yet know was how deeply her past would shape her purpose. A biology and health sciences major on a pre-med track from Madison, West Virginia, Emily plans to graduate in 2028 and hopes to become a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":198,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-moments"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/198"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1731"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1781,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1731\/revisions\/1781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}