Students shave heads for cancer

By Anthony Lauriello     3/31/11 7:00pm

Three Rice students, Hanszen sophomore Cecila Alvarez, Jones Sophomore Antonia Lloyd-Davies, and Hanszen freshman Nehemiah Ankoor shaved themselves completely bald in front of a small audience in the Hanszen quad on March 18.

The idea for the event came to Alvarez, daughter of Rice Professor Pedro Alvarez, a year ago when she was attending Austin College in Dallas. She became involved in helping organize an event for St. Baldricks charity, in which students shaved their hair, raised money for research in childhood cancer, and donated any usable hair to cancer patients.

Inspired by the event Alvarez decided not only to organize but also to participate in the event and shave her head, but at the last minute had cold feet and backed out. When she transferred to Rice she decided to bring the event to her new school and of course overcome her fear of going bald.

---

---

With the help of Davies and Ankoor, Alvarez raised close to $3,000, a figure she proudly gave out during a short speech at the beginning of the event.

"They contributed to a good cause, threw away their vanity and gave everyone a good feeling." Hanszen sophomore Bruna Costa said summing up the event.

While this year's event is done, Alvarez is already planning for next year. "When people see me, I hope to spark interest and questions and start conversation. I hope to make this a campus wide event next year with all the colleges participating."

Hallie Jordan contributed to this article.

---