性吧导航

Stephen DiPietro was cleaning out his garage last month when he stopped, arrested by an old photo he wishes he could forget.

In it, his son, also named Stephen, had the telltale swollen skin and absent eyebrows of a chemotherapy patient. The boy was in eighth grade at the time, just 13 and suffering through the challenging treatment for stage 4 Hodgkin鈥檚 lymphoma, a white blood cell disease that slowly destroys the immune system if unchecked.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 not the way I think of him,鈥� said DiPietro, who is 性吧导航鈥檚 vice provost for university assessment, accreditation and institutional effectiveness. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not the way I see him today; it鈥檚 night and day.鈥�

Today, 11 years later, Stephen is healthy, and he鈥檚 a Drexel graduate, thanks in large part to a full scholarship he received from , a 45-year-old organization created by former Philadelphia Eagles tight end Fred Hill to fight pediatric cancer. Each year, the University offers a scholarship to an incoming freshman who is a childhood cancer survivor as part of Eagles Fly鈥檚 commitment to help families deal with the non-medical expenses of caring for their children.

Stephen still remembers standing in the phone booth at his high school, St. Joseph鈥檚 Preparatory School, when he got the call that told him he鈥檇 be going to Drexel.

鈥淚 was shocked,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淚 knew Drexel was where I wanted to go. After everything I鈥檇 been through, I saw it as another opportunity, another challenge, and I was ecstatic.鈥�

Carlie McWilliams had a similar reaction when she found out she鈥檇 be a Dragon, just a few years removed from being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in her first year of high school in South Jersey. The bone marrow disease put her in the hospital for six months while she underwent four rounds of chemotherapy at Nemours Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children.

鈥淚t means the world to me,鈥� McWilliams said of her scholarship as she sat outside the W.W. Hagerty Library two weeks into her freshman classes. 鈥淟ike any kid I dreamed of going away to college. I still sit back sometimes and think, 鈥榃ow, this is real.鈥� I鈥檓 really grateful for it.鈥�

McWilliams is diving into her first term and it鈥檚 no coincidence that she enrolled in the College of Nursing and Health Professions. She hadn鈥檛 always intended to study nursing, but her experience in the hospital gave her a new perspective.

鈥淚 gained more respect seeing firsthand what they had to deal with,鈥� McWilliams said of her nurses. 鈥淪eeing that, I wanted to be that for someone. I want to help people. I want to maybe even work in oncology and help kids on a personal level: 鈥榊eah, I鈥檓 your nurse, but I know what you鈥檙e going through.鈥欌��

Drexel hosted a ceremony Dec. 7 in the A.J. Drexel Picture Gallery honoring the University鈥檚 three scholarship recipients thus far 鈥� in addition to Stephen and McWilliams, BoDean Messier was awarded a scholarship and graduated this year with a degree in biological sciences. There鈥檚 a shared understanding among the Eagles Fly recipients about what they鈥檝e been through.

鈥淭he opportunity that they give people who are still going through this, or have gone through it, it鈥檚 so great,鈥� Stephen said. 鈥淎fter you deal with such a difficult period in your life, you have an opportunity to succeed in your future.鈥�

Stephen finished his bachelor鈥檚 in information systems in 2015 and now works as an information protection specialist at Cigna in Philadelphia. He鈥檚 finishing a master鈥檚 in national security management through Drexel Online.

As for his father, DiPietro doesn鈥檛 like to dwell on painful reminders of the days when his son was sick. Instead, he keeps a photo on the desk in his office in Main Building of his son on the day he graduated from Drexel. In it, father and son stand alongside President John Fry. At Fry鈥檚 suggestion, DiPietro was the one who handed his son the diploma. All three are beaming.

Looking at it, there鈥檚 no sign that Stephen ever dealt with the ravages of cancer. He looks like a college graduate with a bright future ahead of him, his history in hospitals now set squarely in the past.

鈥淚t was incredible,鈥� Stephen said of that day. 鈥淚t was a truly great end to what was a wonderful experience on campus at Drexel.鈥�