Reality matches dream of UNC-bound cancer survivor

By Chris Casey, Greeley Tribune

Published August 25, 2008 at 7:24 p.m.

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The dream is becoming reality for Zane Schaefer. He can hardly believe it.

"You're sitting in Illinois and it just isn't sinking in," Schaefer said last week, shortly after arriving in Greeley after a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. "But then you start driving around the college and you're going . . . 'I'm going to college in Colorado.' It's just sinking in finally."

Rewind several months.

Schaefer is a senior at Edwardsville High School, in his hometown in southwest Illinois. He's a good student. His hobbies are snowboarding and more snowboarding.

Schaefer, though, has been through a lot.

Rewind some more.

As a sophomore, he's diagnosed with a tumor - a racquetball-sized lump in his brain. Doctors remove as much of it as possible and Schaefer undergoes four months of chemotherapy. Daily treatments require a 45-minute drive to St. Louis.

He quickly jumps back into his studies, catching up on honors-level courses and staying on track to graduate with his class.

The dream starts taking shape. He applies to the University of Northern Colorado and Colorado State University. He gets accepted by both and earns some scholarships.

It's not enough to make it a reality, however. There's out-of-state tuition to consider, and there's a younger brother who will be headed to college soon.

Enter the Make-A-Wish people earlier this year, when Schaefer is down to his last semester in high school. The dream picks up steam.

The volunteers assigned to Schaefer, Heather Harrop and Lisa Wrice, learned that Make- A-Wish could kick in $4,000 a year for college. In an initial conversation with Nancy Gray, UNC's assistant director of financial aid, he was pleased to hear UNC had offered an academic scholarship that would cover part of his tuition and fees. He had a similar offer at CSU.

Schaefer's cost to attend UNC is roughly $20,000 a year including room and board, and he had pulled together about $10,000 a year between Make-A-Wish and other scholarships. UNC will fill the $10,000-a-year gap.

In early July, Harrop and Wrice dropped by Schaefer's house, first asking his parents to send the 18-year-old out on an errand. Harrop and Wrice strolled in with a huge novelty check and wore T-shirts that, when they stood side by side, spelled out "Your Wish Has Come True (front)" and "You're going to the University of Northern Colorado (back)."

Then Schaefer came home and the party was on.

"He started freaking out and whooping and hollering," Harrop said of the teen's reaction.

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