September marks Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, a time to shine a light on the incredible strength, resilience, and courage of children and families facing one of life’s toughest journeys. But it’s also a time to celebrate the communities that stand beside them, supporting them every step of the way. For Vara, joining the Michigan Dance team meant gaining a team, a support system, a community, and so much more.
Seventeen-year-old Vara knows all too well the challenges of living with childhood cancer. “Living through a childhood cancer diagnosis is like being in a car crash over and over again,” Vara’s mom, Emily, said. “After the initial diagnosis shock wears off, you then are immediately forced into a world, language, and day-to-day operational model that is so foreign to ‘normal’ life.” For Vara, this was an experience she feels no one can fully understand until they or a loved one is directly impacted, an experience that often makes you feel alone, an experience that is scary and unknown. But through Team IMPACT, Vara found more than just a support system—she found a family. “It feels terribly lonely, and at times the isolation can create more fear,” Emily said. “Having an outlet and voice, a team to support you is critical to success for the family and the child. It helps to know that you are not alone, and that there is strength behind you.”
The support that Vara receives from her team isn’t just one big moment—it’s a collection of little ones that add up to something priceless. From dancing at volleyball games to deep conversations about life, Vara’s team has become 27 best friends who Emily says help her navigate life and focus on the future, boosting her confidence along the way. “Being able to have true friends that help her talk about her feelings, explore a challenge emotionally or physically, and find ways to win, she feels accepted, and that is the best gift,” Emily said. “Those girls are her role models, and we are so lucky they are amazing women, students, and athletes. This has given Vara friends that are true, time that is fun, a peek at life as a college student-athlete, hope in a future that is fulfilling even if it is challenging, and support that is unwavering. It is simply priceless.”
But the impact of Vara’s friendship with the dance team isn’t one-sided. Vara’s teammates have been changed by their time with her just as much as she has. Julia Lepore, a Fellow and student-athlete on the dance team, credits Vara with giving her a new perspective on life. Last year, Vara gifted her entire team with bracelets, which now stands as a reminder to Julia of their unbreakable connection. “Every time I wear the bracelet and look at it, it reminds me that Vara is always with me, even when we’re not together. It reminds me of how strong she is and how much she’s overcome in life. Vara reminds me that anything is possible.”
Julia and her teammates have seen Vara grow in remarkable ways since joining the team, but they also acknowledge how much they’ve grown alongside her. “Our team has changed. We’ve grown a lot because she is a part of our team,” Julia said. “She is part of our team, she is on our team, just like any of us. She impacts our lives with her presence and the way she brings a positive attitude to any atmosphere.”
Sofia, also a Fellow and member of the dance team, seconded the power Vara has had on not only the dance team but the entire Michigan Athletics community. “Since Vara joined the team, we have learned the importance of community when going through something like childhood cancer. Vara has had a stellar community around her, not only of doctors but of friends and family who have helped to support her, including the entire Michigan community,” Sofia said. “You will have people who have seen your scars and embrace you because of them. Vara is hilarious, she’s the comedian of our team, and she’s seriously the light of any room.”
Alongside dozens of other Team IMPACT matches at the University of Michigan, Vara has redefined what it means to be the Leaders and the Best. Participating in Team IMPACT provides student-athletes with the opportunity to learn about resilience, strength, and what it means to support others in ways that extend far beyond the playing field. “Team IMPACT means a lot to the whole Michigan Athletics community because every single athletics team at the University of Michigan, we all value family, passion, hard work, dedication, and positivity, and those are all qualities Team IMPACT brings to us and enhances,” Julia said. “It really empowers us as athletes to not only work toward a goal for ourselves but to impact others and pay it forward.”
For Sofia, her involvement with Team IMPACT has given her time at Michigan a deeper sense of purpose. “If I were not involved in Team IMPACT, a significant amount of the purpose and meaning from my time at Michigan would be taken,” she said. “You can’t be the Leaders and the Best without getting everyone in the game. Team IMPACT and Michigan Athletics have the same foundations of reaching higher, of pushing yourself to do more, of getting more people involved to make success even greater.”
As we wrap up September and Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, we shine light on those children on their own childhood cancer journeys and the teams who are alongside them through every up and down as we strive to ensure no child faces their illness in isolation. “I never want you to doubt how important you are and how important your story is,” Sofia said. “Your fight matters. Your struggles matter. Your family matters. You matter.”