Conquering Cancer: Four alumni work together to take on childhood cancer

D iva Hicks, '06, Mandy Fingerhut, '07, Meredith Colbert Bach, '07, and Jennifer Gilliam, '12 have more in common than an alma mater.

Each one of them shares a dedication to volunteerism, passion for purpose and, despite their varied backgrounds, an employer.

Meredith Colbert Bach, left, and her husband Alex at the 2022 Believe Ball

All four have roles within CURE Childhood Cancer, a nonprofit based in Atlanta that funds targeted research while supporting patients and addressing the most critical needs of their families.

With Hicks, Fingerhut serves as senior development director, Bach as a CURE board member and strategic value partner, and Gilliam as an operations and database manager.

"You can't help but fall in love with this organization," Gilliam said. "It really restores your faith in humanity."

The passion they share is personal for Hicks, whose older sister was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at 12 years old. Now healthy and in remission, her sister and their family were early beneficiaries of CURE's support services.

"We're just super fortunate, but not everybody's story is like mine," Hicks said. "So, for me to create beautiful ways to tell the stories of these children and their families so that someone is motivated to get involved is a huge responsibility and honor."

"Making sure those children, those stories, are not forgotten - that they are kept - is what motivates me," she said.

Hoping to help fund the cure for childhood cancers within their lifetimes, the four alumni worked together, not knowing they shared Bobcat status.

From left to right: Mandy, Jennifer and Diva at a fundraising event "Even if our time didn't cross over at Georgia College, the people did - these impactful teachers, mentors and leaders that the school had," Hicks said.

Hicks and Gilliam bonded over a shared love of Kendall Stiles, longtime supporter of student volunteerism and founder of the GIVE Center in 1997. In 2022, her contribution to the university was honored with the Giving Tree Award and a tree planted in her name.

"Kendall is really important to me, but it's not just me who had that feeling," Hicks said. "These leaders saw in us something special, or something we loved, and helped nurture it and guide us."

Slowly, the tapestry of their college experiences became unwoven, and the four bonded over shared experiences with community-based service learning, inspiring faculty and their favorite places to eat in downtown Milledgeville.

"Every professor was so good about encouraging you to find what sets your soul on fire and using your skills to find where you should end up," Gilliam said. "When I left Georgia College, I knew I was going to work in some helping capacity, and I think my professors did a great job of stewarding me to find that path."

"Here I am, happy as can be," she said.

The mentor Gilliam speaks of is Dr. Tsu-Ming Chiang, professor of psychology and a faculty member at Georgia College for the past 33 years.

"Georgia College, by virtue of the type of institution it is, with an emphasis on the liberal arts - being open-minded to different views of what education can look like - instills values in its students that I feel we are a reflection of," Hicks said.

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