RE students and faculty recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month with Dig Pink events
Ransom Everglades recognized Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October with its 14th annual "Dig Pink" fundraising volleyball game in pink uniforms, a Dig Pink swim meet in pink caps, bake sales and educational assemblies on both campuses. Middle school students heard from Kate Lampen-Sachar '99, a breast radiologist at the Sylvester Cancer Center at the University of Miami, and upper school students from Starr Mautner, a breast surgical oncologist at the Miami Cancer Institute.
Lampen-Sachar was interviewed on the middle school campus by Abigail Zichella '29, and Mautner was introduced and interviewed by Phia Ranawat '27, Bella Ranawat '26, Lindsay Ng '25 and Addison Pollock '25. Lampen-Sachar is a member of one of RE's three-generation families; her twins, Isabelle Sachar '29 and Sophia Sachar '29 were in attendance to the middle school assembly in the gymnasium.
"Everyone in this audience at some point in life will know somebody affected by breast cancer," Mautner told students at the Lewis Family Auditorium. "It is the most common cancer – one in eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. So whether it's your mother, your sister, a friend, a teacher or yourself, there are many ways to support breast cancer research or get involved in the community ... What you guys are doing at the high school level is amazing. This is why the outcomes in breast cancer are so great now."
The Dig Pink varsity volleyball game on Oct. 16 raised $2,300 in merchandise and other sales, and it also served as the district semifinal game against the Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart. The Raiders won the match by an 3-1 score. Carrollton and RE jointly founded the Dig Pink tournament in 2008 and have carried on the tradition ever since.
The swim team wore pink caps during its senior night on Oct. 18, with many swimmers adding pink make-up and goggles. Students and faculty also participated in walks for breast cancer research, and faculty wore pink polo shirts on Oct. 22.
Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.