Ohio University faculty members exhibited dancing, jokes and juggling Wednesday night in honor of 6-year-old Ava Nichols, who is battling brain cancer.
Alpha Phi Omega-Delta Gamma presented The Ava Nichols Faculty Pageant Wednesday evening in Baker University Center Ballroom to raise money for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This was the third-annual faculty pageant. Admission was $3 and all proceeds went to St. Jude.
About 500 students showed up to support the Nichols family and see some of OU’s faculty perform onstage.
“Alpha Phi Omega did an awesome job putting this whole thing together for a wonderful cause,” Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi said. “Ava is a true inspiration and quite a little lady, so it was great to be here and support such a wonderful cause.”
Ava and her parents Traci and David, of Waterford, Ohio, attended the pageant.
On March 22, 2010, Ava was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Traci and David Nichols decided to take Ava to St. Jude for treatments.
Ava’s radiation treatments ended on May 25, 2010, but she still received chemotherapy treatments twice a day at home. In January 2011, the Nichols family received news that Ava’s tumor had grown. She is resting and receiving nutrients from a feeding tube and has been showing signs of healing, according to a pamphlet with information about Ava.
During the pageant, Roger Cooper of the School of Media Arts and Studies and Chris Schwirian, a biological sciences professor, showed off their juggling skills; Natalie Shubert from the School of Communication Studies had her dog do some tricks; Lombardi danced “The Bernie”; Teaching Assistant Amanda Catron told jokes; Risa Whitson, a geography and women's and gender studies professor, read a children’s tongue twister book; and Julie Suhr, a psychology professor, did some animal yells.
“It was good to see so many people come out for a good cause,” said Curran Rhodes, a junior studying biochemistry. “I was here last year, and the turnout was at least doubled tonight. It’s exciting to see it growing each year.”
Other performances included the Tempo Tantrums, an OU a cappella group, which sang “Baby” by Justin Bieber. Ava’s mother sang and played guitar, and there was a light-hearted Q&A for the faculty from the audience, which resulted in laughs all around.
People can follow Ava and her story on Facebook through “Love and Prayers for Miss Ava Nichols!” Donations can be made to the Nichols family at www.avanichols.org.
“This is a really good cause that Alpha Omega does to raise money for St. Jude,” said Mesha Baylis, a sophomore studying journalism. “Ava’s story is just such an inspiration.”
tt182810@ohiou.edu
