The most rewarding part of being a mom is watching my boys continue to be strong, kind, and happy kids after everything we have faced. Even through cancer, loss, and life’s hardest seasons, they still choose kindness and see the good in others. Watching their faith grow and seeing who they are becoming makes every struggle worth it.

Motherhood has taught me that strength isn’t about doing it all. I’ve learned not only to accept help, but to ask for it—something I never thought I could do. As a nurse, I spend so much time caring for others, but being a mom has shown me how important it is to let others care for me too. Cancer and losing my mom taught me this in the hardest way, and pushed me to lean on my faith more than ever. Showing up for my boys, and letting others show up for me, has changed how I see motherhood.

I would use the $20,000 to support moms after active cancer treatment. I know how lonely that stage can feel, and how life is never quite the same. People don’t talk enough about that quiet in-between—when treatment ends but you don’t feel like yourself. I would donate health and wellness resources to help women rebuild strength, confidence, and identity. I want to help moms not just survive after cancer, but feel like themselves again, and remind them they’re not alone in it.