Laura Stearns is sporting a new hairstyle these days: bald.
The first-year osteopathic medical student was inspired to join other members of the DMU community in collecting money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, an organization that raises funds for childhood cancer research. Participants gathered Feb. 28 in the Student Education Center commons to either donate their locks for wigs for cancer kids or to spark donations by having their heads shaved. Many were members of creatively named teams including “Follicular Freedom” and “The Good, the Bald and the Ugly.”
“Cancer kids don’t have a choice in keeping their hair. Those kids are braver than I will ever be,” Stearns said at the event. “With or without hair, they’re still beautiful young people, and they’re strong.”
Organized by a committee of DMU students, the event raised $19,901. That amount nearly doubled the committee’s goal of $10,000 and made DMU the top fundraiser among other participating osteopathic schools.
