The Association of Chemistry Graduate Students will hold a pie-throwing fundraiser In support of alumna Jessica Bongiovanni, who three months ago learned that she has a rare form of bone cancer.
The fundraiser, “Pie Your Chemistry Professor or Lab TA,” will be from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 23, in the West Quad, which is near the Barnhardt Student Activity Center and Cone University Center. All pie throws will cost $1, and donations will be accepted. Plastic bags will be available to protect clothing.
Bongiovanni, who is 25, has osteosarcoma, an aggressive form of cancer that affects about 400 people a year across the United States. She learned of her cancer just 10 weeks before her wedding, which has been postponed. She has been undergoing intense chemotherapy, and her right leg has been amputated.
One of four recipients of the McKernan Research Scholarships from the Carolina Chemical Club, Bongiovanni received her master’s degree in chemistry from UNC Charlotte in summer 2011. She continued in a doctoral program at Princeton University.
Money raised from the Association of Chemistry Graduate Students fundraiser will be placed in a trust fund that was created by her family to help her pay for rising medical bills, her prosthetic leg, a wheelchair ramp and daily living expenses. Her blog has more information http://jessicabongiovanni.wordpress.com/