 For some students, participating in a cancer awareness campaign may seem like another student council project. But for Mansfield High School junior Preston Nix, it is a personal ambition. Nix's plan for the campaign is create more awareness of how many people are affected by cancer. "Cancer is a club that no one wants to be apart of, but several people are affected by it," said Nix.
Mansfield High School is continuing with their cancer awareness campaign, and Nix is the drive behind a pioneering idea. When his mother Linda Nix, a Business teacher at MISD Ben Barber Career Tech Academy [BBCTA], was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, he believed that breast cancer was the only type of cancer to have a color associated with it. Quickly he learned that different colors represent the different variations of cancer like the color teal for ovarian cancer. Now, students and staff may purchase one of eight different colored t-shirts with a color-coded index on the back. For now, ovarian, breast, prostate, brain, melanoma, general cancer, colon and leukemia are the eight types of cancer represented. To create the visual reminder of how many people are affected by caner, students and staff are asked to wear their shirts on the first Friday of every month.
Overall, 400 shirts have been sold to the students and staff at Mansfield High School. Nix found a local supplier to sell him the t-shirts at cost. Each shirt costs $10 and approximately $5 of each shirt is donated to Relay for Life.
Schools in Mansfield ISD and other surrounding districts have shown interest in taking on the idea at their campus. In the meantime, Nix is diligently working to expand the program to the community.
According to Nix, his mother had wondered why no one ordered t-shirts from her. However, as a special tribute to her and her battle with ovarian cancer, the entire faculty at BBCTA secretly organized to be decked out in teal t-shirts Friday, February 2. (see picture above)
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