Thank you for visiting my page today and taking the time to let me share my story with you. I'm Ariana Alba, a fourth-year Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences student at the University of Texas, also pursuing a Pre-Health Professions Certificate.
I’m thrilled to be part of the 2026 Texas 4000 for Cancer Team, a fundraiser supporting the Texas 4000 for Cancer organization! I'm passionate about this cause and would love your support! Every donation—big or small—helps me reach my fundraising goal and directly impacts this important cause. 

Here Is Why I Ride:

I ride for my grandmother, my Mamita. She was my best friend, my rock, and the person who always encouraged me to become the best version of myself. She cheered me on at every dance performance, biked around the neighborhood with me, and let me curl her hair and paint her nails while we watched Family Feud.

During my sophomore year of high school, she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. I remember thinking how unfair it was. How could something so cruel happen to someone who poured so much love into the world? But cancer doesn’t discriminate. It takes from every age, gender, and background. And in the end, cancer took my Mamita. She fought with grace and resilience. Even as her body endured treatment after treatment, she met each day with courage and still found ways to show love to those around her.

I ride to honor her. I ride because my Mamita taught me how to push through the hardest moments in life. Through Texas 4000, I hope to embody the values she lived by and share the same love she gave so freely.

I ride so there will be fewer stories like hers, fewer families watching a loved one fight through pain, and fewer goodbyes said too soon. I ride for hope, for research, for prevention, and for a future without cancer.

As I ride these 4,000 miles, I don’t just carry Mamita’s memory, I ride with the stories and strength of so many others who have faced this disease. If you or someone in your life has been touched by cancer, I would be honored to ride in their name too. Please click this link and fill out the 'Who can I ride for' form.

Here's how you can help:

• Donate: Contribute whatever you can. No amount is too small!
• Spread the Word: Share my fundraising page with your friends, family, and social networks. Let’s spread awareness so we can raise more!

Thank you for standing by me in this effort. Your support means the world to me!

To Alaska and back, 

Ariana Alba