Sarah Hokanson

My name is Sarah. By day I am Associate Provost for Academic Initiatives and Operational Excellence at Boston University, but most importantly, I am a single mom to twin boys, Finn and Erik. Running has been a passion of mine since high school - it is how I center myself, my favorite way to listen to music, the way I connect to the world, and a great source of stress relief. When I am not running, you can find me drinking blonde vanilla lattes, curled up under a blanket watching a show or reading a book, and cheering on the twins in their activities. 

The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation does important work supporting autistic people and their families, a community that my family is a part of. Erik is on the autism spectrum, and our family has overcome incredible challenges in the last two years - each of us were affected in different ways. I am grateful to my extended family and friends for their support, but there were moments where truly I did not know if we would ever find the joy and happiness or that Erik would find the success that I really wanted to believe was possible. Erik is doing so well now and I am so proud of all of us and the ways we supported each other when everything felt like it was falling apart.

I really like the message of empowerment that the Flutie Foundation brings to their work, not wanting to just offer support, but to truly ensure the quality of life for autistic people and their families. I am combining my passion for running with fundraising so that I can do two things at the same time: 1) complete a personal goal for myself (completing another major marathon) as a victory lap for everything our family has accomplished in the last two years; 2) raise awareness about autism and the fantastic initiatives offered by the Flutie Foundation. The money raised here will support programs that offer financial support to autistic people and their families, as well as work in partnership with law enforcement to ensure autistic people are safe and included in our communities.