Hoover Grad Doesn’t Let CF Get in the Way of Goals
When it was announced recently that 2014 Hoover High School grad Andrea Rider was awarded the AbbVie Thriving Scholar scholarship those who know her might have both cheered and yawned. Because it’s a noteworthy distinction but just the latest one in a series she’s achieved.
Some background is in order. Andrea has cystic fibrosis. CF is a fatal genetic disease.
“Thankfully Andrea is doing well, but she endures a lot,” according to her mother and #1 admirer, Susie Rider. “Andrea also has CF related diabetes, takes a multitude of pills and must perform physio-chest therapy twice daily.”
That’s one side of the ledger. On the other are, let’s see, Hoover Prom Queen, Jayne Hentges Humanitarian Award winner, Science Bound Student of the Year, cross-country runner (take that, CF!), and flutist in the school band, for starters.
The Hentges Award was established by the parents of a Hoover student who died from injuries she received in a horseback riding accident in 1972.
In bestowing it upon Andrea last spring, Hoover science teacher Eric Hall had this to say of her: “She manages to maintain a balance between her academic work, extra-curriculars, and the amazing work she does with organizations that support finding a cure for CF. Few students would be able to handle this kind of stress, but she does it each and every day, and always with a smile and a sense of humor.”
Her AP U.S. History and AP Government teacher the last two years at Hoover, Jason Danielson, was equally impressed by Andrea’s courage and perseverance in the face of challenges.
“I remember getting an email from her mom at the beginning of her junior year alerting me to the fact that she deals every day with cystic fibrosis,” he said. “After that initial email, however, I never once saw an unhappy face or heard a complaint, except maybe about my jokes in class. The work she does through Andrea’s Angels to promote awareness and raise funds to fight this disease, combined with her beautiful attitude, make her an amazing example for her peers and her teachers.”
Currently a student at Iowa State University where she enrolled with a 30 credit hour head start thanks to her outstanding work in AP classes at Hoover, Andrea fundraises for the Iowa Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation through a team named Andrea’s Angels. They’ve got a Facebook page if you’re interested: https://www.facebook.com/Angels4Andrea.
The AbbVie CF SCHOLARSHIP was created to honor young adults with cystic fibrosis as they pursue goals of higher education. The award goes to “thriving” students. There’s no better word for Andrea than that.
It certainly defines her better than CF has ever managed to do or ever will.
