Lavender T-Shirt for general cancer awareness |
Mansfield senior Preston Nix, channels his love for his mom and his belief in doing something to make a difference into an online cancer awareness t-shirt store.
Q&A with Preston Nix, Mansfield HS senior and founder of www.cancertshirts.org.
What is the basic concept for your t-shirt site?
Well, I sell shirts to raise both awareness and money for cancer research. Most people know that Pink is the color of breast cancer, but not many know that every cancer has a color. So while raising money for cancer research is high on my priority list, letting the world know what cancer has affected which person is the most rewarding. When people see someone wearing a cancer shirt they know the person has been affected by that specific cancer.
Why did you choose to take on this endeavor?
To be honest I don't really feel I chose anything. I feel that when someone is given the idea, know how and resources to do something productive and they don't, that becomes a huge injustice to society. The amount of work and effort I have put into this non-profit is nothing compared to how hard my mom has fought her cancer and I would trade what I've done for her health in a heartbeat. But being able to do something productive is the best thing I can do right now. While cancer is something I can't control, raising money and awareness is something I can, so the harder my mom fights the harder I fight.
This idea started out rather personally, how has it changed (if any) since is has grown?
I don't like to talk about how my mom is doing. In fact the best way to keep me from talking is to bring up my mom's cancer. However, the easiest way to put me in the best of moods is by bringing up the cancer shirts. Growing up I was taught that men were to protect the woman in our lives. Cancer wasn't something I could protect my mom from, however online Cancer T-Shirts sales is something I can control. Being able to do something for my mom and other cancer victims is the best gift I have been given. Because I feel this idea was a gift, I needed something to distract myself from the pressures of life and this was my avenue for distraction.
What have you learned about yourself in this process?
I learned that I constantly have to be distracted when dealing with tragedy. I learned that it is possible to do something significant before college. And I learned that you can start a business and business checking account before you're 18, but not a personal checking account.
What would you tell a son or daughter who is going through a similar situation with cancer in their home?
I'm not an expert and I know little of what you are going through but nonetheless we are still apart of one of the largest, most caring and compassionate clubs in the world, people who've been affected by cancer.
What do you hope to accomplish or short-term/long-term goals with the site and t-shirt sales?
Short term I would like 30 schools to agree to participate before January first (I have approximately 15 so far and 5 or so are talking to me about it), to become Texas Student Council project of the year and to raise 5,000 dollars for Relay For Life (we've raised 1,500 for our local relay and 1,000-2,000 for other Relays). Long term I would like to have schools all over the country doing this and people to start buying shirts on the Web site I spent hours making. If my mom could get to go see Oprah that would make everything I've done worth it to do something like that for her. And finally I hope that Cancer T-Shirts Inc. could get taken over by the American Cancer Society as another part of their organization.
What are your future plans?
Ideally I will go to the University of Texas honors business school at McCombs. Get a double major in honors business, finance and then maybe a minor in political science and/or economics. Work for a few years then go for my graduate at Wharton, eventually joining politics later in life after I have established myself financially and maybe come back to run as a senator. (Yes, I know I'm kind of a nerd but I'm pretending only my close friends and adults will read this.)
Realistically I will try to do most of the same things but just not as glamorously as I would like. |
