Stillwater High School Students Rally For Cancer Research During 'Pink Out Week'

Each year, students at Stillwater High School raise funds for cancer research for the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) through their Pink Out Week events.

For Seniors Emalee Gilliland and Addison Harmon, the inspiration for this year’s efforts was close to home, as both have personal connections to individuals affected by cancer.

For Emalee, it’s Justin Mills, a longtime coach and special education teacher at Stillwater Middle School, who serves as this year’s Pink Out Week honorary captain. Mills is battling multiple myeloma, a type of cancer that occurs when abnormal plasma cells build up in the bone marrow to form tumors in the bones.

“I’ve known Coach Mills my whole life,” Gilliland said. “His daughter was my best friend all through middle school.”

Harmon draws her motivation from Kendra Kilpatrick, a high school basketball coach who passed away from breast cancer at 36. Harmon fondly refers to her as “Aunt Kendra” and often babysits her two children, who watched as she and her classmates decorated the school for the week’s events.

Since 2011, Stillwater High has raised almost $130,000 for cancer research by partnering with OMRF. The school’s Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) chapter, led by teacher Jody Webber, organizes the effort.

Each spring, Webber takes her FCCLA students on a tour of OMRF. Earlier this year, the students met OMRF scientist Jake Kirkland, Ph.D., whose research focuses on identifying which breast cancer patients benefit from an aggressive chemotherapy treatment.

“Hearing him discuss his research, it was like a light bulb clicked on,” Harmon said. “That was the chemo they gave Coach K. It was like, ‘This is why we work so hard for Pink Out Week.’”

This year’s fundraising events included a bake sale, penny wars, a silent auction, and special nights at local restaurants where a portion of dinner sales were donated. Students also collected donations during halftime of the homecoming football game on Sept. 27, a 66-20 win over Lawton Eisenhower High School.

The total raised from this year’s event will be revealed after the Pink Out Powder Puff Game on Oct. 29, with hopes of surpassing last year’s $14,000.

For more information on Pink Out Week, visit StillwaterSchools.com/PinkOut.