TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) — Two campus organizations came together on the John Robert Lewis quad to remember loved ones lost to breast cancer for the third year in a row on Monday. 

The Troy University Breast Cancer Awareness Society, also known as Trojans in Pink, and 101 E.L.I.T.E Men held a balloon release on the quad to pay their respects to those who are battling, or have battled breast cancer. This is the third annual balloon release, started by Troy Alumnus, Qwien Mason, in 2024 to memorialize his aunt, Teresa Sharpley. 

“There’s a lot of emotion with it, of course, and with my sister’s journey, I feel like I was on the journey with her,” said Michell Sharpley McCarver, sister of Teresa and speaker at the event. “We were there in the room when she passed away, so, you know, we were there for the last breath and that, I think, was really special, but it was heartbreaking as well.” 

The event included an opening prayer, a few speeches given about the impact breast cancer can have on a person or family’s life – including McCarver’s and the release of the balloons to close. On the balloons, students wrote the names of those they knew that have passed, or that are currently struggling. 

In her speech, McCarver focused on the importance of early detection, getting mammograms and paying attention to your own health. She also stressed that breast cancer is not woman specific and that men can get it as well. 

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“I try to keep her memory alive, doing events like these, where I can speak about her, and tell people about how to detect it, and how important that is,” McCarver said. 

Education was only half of it. The organizers wanted to create an environment for students to be able to connect over similar struggles and feel comfortable in expressing their feelings toward their struggles. 

“This is an event we both hold dear to our heart and I feel like it’s important to give students that safe space because I understand being far from home or still dealing with things of the past while at school,” said Christian Brown, a senior biomedical sciences major from Birmingham, Alabama and Alpha Psi Alpha brother of Qwien Mason. “I feel as if bringing that community and kind of a warm, almost home feeling, to the campus gives [students] an outlook or a way to escape or understand. 

“They get to be around people that have been through the same things as them, and it can kind of guide them through that path of whether it be grief or sadness or just understanding that it’s okay to keep going.” 

Katherine Harrison, senior elementary education major from Gainesville, Florida and president of Trojans in Pink said bringing the students together to relate to each other was the most impactful part of the event. 

“I’m really hoping the students take away that they’re not alone,” Harrison said. “Regardless of if it’s breast cancer you’re fighting, or anything that you’re fighting, you’re not alone.  

“Life can throw adversities at you, and it can be hard, and especially since we’re in college, and we all understand that, so just know that you’re not alone at all and you’re fighting with somebody.” 

Brown shared his experiences with grieving his grandmother, whom he lost to breast cancer, to try to show the students they don’t have to handle their loss all alone. 

“I had my family members, I’m very myself family oriented, so I can definitely say family was my outlook for me,” Brown said. “Throughout the time of me losing [my grandmother], I had my granddad and we spent a lot of time together. 

“We kind of coped together to understand that, hey, I did lose my grandma, he did lose his wife, but we still have each other.” 

The students were encouraged to help each other cope just as Brown and his grandfather did. Some of the students even wrote notes on other people’s balloons before letting them loose. 

This is Trojans in Pink’s first year as a campus organization and they have events planned for the rest of the month of October, being Breast Cancer Awareness Month.