In only a few short months, 19-year-old Lauren Munchak made a profound impact on the Uni-versity community. On March 5, first-year College student Munchak lost her ongoing fight with cancer.
"She never let her illness get her down," said fourth-year Education student LeAnn Schmidt, a close friend of Munchak. "I never once saw her without a smile on her face. She was so determined to keep up her life."
Lauren Munchak was born in California on May 23, 1986. Soon after her birth, Lauren's family moved to Northern Virginia where they currently reside. Her family learned early in her life that Lauren was something special.
"She was involved with a lot of things when she was younger, like Girl Scouts and Brownies," Lauren's mother Mary Munchak said. "One summer when she was in fifth or sixth grade, she was selected for the People-to-People Program in Australia. She raised nearly $2,000 all by herself for the trip."
Her mother said Lauren loved horseback riding, volunteering at the hospital where her mother worked and trying all kinds of sports.
"Even though she never really excelled at sports, she tried everything," Mary Munchak said. "She tried skiing, ice skating, soccer and I think she ran track in high school."
Lauren attended Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, Va. It was during the end of her senior year there when she was first diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma. According to the American Cancer Society, Ewing's Sarcoma is a rare bone tumor that affects roughly 250 children and adolescents each year -- especially people between the ages of 10 and 20.
According to Mary Munchak, who is a medical technician, the disease has a 75 percent survival rate.
"We were in Indiana to visit schools and that's when we discovered the lump on her leg," Mary Munchak said. "Two days later she was on her way to Europe. When she came back we told her it was probably cancer."
Lauren was still able to finish out her senior year and go to her senior prom.
"In high school, Lauren had a friend who had collapsed during his freshman year and almost died," Mary Munchak said. "It was right before prom when we found out about the cancer, so the two of them developed a special bond because she was ill and he had nearly died. They went to prom together."
Lauren was accepted to the University during her senior year, but was medically deferred for one year because of the cancer.
"She was really worried about getting medically deferred because she was so excited about going to U.Va.," Mary Munchak said.
Lauren finished her chemotherapy treatments in March of last year and was able to attend the University as a first year last fall.
Before she started school, Lauren got to take her Make-A-Wish trip to London.
"She picked London because she was supposed to go there with her senior class but she couldn't because of her illness," Mary Munchak said.
Part of Lauren's wish was for her family to accompany her, and they did.
Lauren Munchak started at the University in August.
When it seemed like things were finally going right for her, she received yet another blow.
"She went in for a scan near the end of September," Mary Munchak said. "The results showed the tumor was back. When she found out she cried a little, but then looked at me and said, 'If I beat it once, I can beat it again.'"
Her friends said despite her condition, she still led a relatively normal college life.
"She was very quirky and had a great sense of humor," first-year College student and suitemate Elise Bui said. "She loved the Food Network. She was always very considerate of everyone in the suite and she would always come back from home with a plate of cookies for us."
Though she was forced to miss classes for treatments, Lauren was able to maintain a high level of scholastic performance.
"She would have to go to the Children's Hospital in [Northern Virginia] every two weeks, then she would come back to school," Schmidt said. "The whole time she was keeping up her grades. She would never skip class. If she got sick during class, she would excuse herself momentarily, take care of the problem and go right back. She was such a trooper through it all."
Lauren was not only dedicated to her studies, but to several student groups as well. She was an active participant in Fighting, Overcoming, and Responding to Cancer Everywhere, Relay for Life and the Catholic Student Ministry.
"She was very diligent about coming to meetings and was extremely involved in everything we did," said F.O.R.C.E. President Kaci Hinkel, a third-year Commerce school student. "She did a lot of great things for our cause and never let the fact that she had the disease over-shine everything else going on. She was a silent shiner."
One such great thing was her ability to fundraise.
"She was able to raise over $1,000 for our Relay for Life team," Hinkel said.
Amidst all her fundraising efforts for organizations dedicated to fighting cancer, Lauren learned in January that new test results showed that the cancer had spread into her lungs, which is what ultimately led to her death.
The Catholic Student Ministry recently honored Lauren with a memorial service.
"Some of her friends did the readings and then we each went up and said some words for her," Schmidt said. "Afterwards we had a reception where we had some of her favorite foods. She loved cheese and snickerdoodles, so we ate those."
There are several other upcoming services to commemorate Lauren's life and courage. F.O.R.C.E. plans to add her to their Hope Garden behind Pavilion IX, where they have honored students, faculty and staff who have died of cancer.
"We are going to be adding a plaque and planting daffodils in her honor," Hinkel said. "This will all take place at a service in the garden where we will have people who knew her come out and speak about her."
Lauren's Relay for Life teammates also have special plans to honor their friend. Third-year Nursing student Lyndsay Wilson said their tent will have T-shirts bearing Lauren's name.
Mary Munchak said she hopes her daughter's life will inspire people. "People will remember her creative spirit and her smile," she said. "She led a good, holy life. She wanted to help people and show them by her example. She led an exemplary life."
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