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Steven Avila: Cancer Battles, Obama Years and Living for the Future1 min read

Season 2, Episode 12

First year MBA student, Steven Avila, tells us about his experience working in the Obama White House, pounding the pavement for the Hillary Clinton campaign, and overcoming a cancer diagnosis and treatment.  In a story about resilience, Steven proves that you really can control the controllables.

 

More to the story


President Obama meets Steven and his family on his last day at the White House Office of Correspondence, where the team selected 10 letters each day (out of the 12 million received every year) for the President to read.

During his time at the White House, Steven was diagnosed with Stage 3 testicular cancer. Through 3 months of chemotherapy and surgery, Steven had the support of his partner, family, friends, colleagues, and even President Obama.

One door closed and another opened in January 2018. After attending President Obama’s farewell speech in Chicago, Steven received his acceptance to the NYU Stern School of Business. Listen to one of the most memorable parts of the speech for Steven below:

Photos and letter courtesy of Steven Avila.

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