The Triangle

Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Evan Rosen

What defines a hero? Is it someone who is gifted at a particular sport? Are heroes defined based on the way they look or their ability to entertain an audience? Maybe a hero is made based on one's ability to overcome adversity and never give up hope or faith. If the last of those statements is accurate, then there is no question that among the students at Drexel University lies a true hero.

Nicole Hester, a junior on the women's basketball team, overcame her battle with Hodgkin's Lymphoma and was named the 2008 recipient of the V Foundation Comeback Award. The award is awarded annually to an "individual or a team who has accomplished a personal triumph in the face of true adversity, be it in health, life or moral dilemma," according to the V Foundation for Cancer Research web site.

"This is a great honor," Hester said. "I feel very special and humbled to be associated with an amazing person like Coach Valvano and the great things that The V Foundation has done to further cancer research."

The award was formed to pay tribute to Jim Valvano, who lost the battle with cancer but inspired others to create the V Foundation. Valvano was an ESPN commentator and coach of the 1983 N.C. State basketball team when it won the national championship.

Hester was selected as the recipient of the award from a group of 14 finalists as the student-athlete who best personifies Coach Valvano's "Don't Give Up. . .Don't Ever Give Up!" motto, which is the legacy from which the Comeback Award was created. Hester is the eighth recipient of the award since 2001.

As a sophomore, Hester earned the team's Defensive MVP Award and helped lead the Dragons to winning seasons in back-to-back campaigns in 2004-05 and 2005-06 for the first time in 15 years. But during her junior season, tragedy struck. Hester found lumps on her neck, which turned out to be cancerous lymph nodes, and was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

She left Drexel to undergo radiation and chemotherapy, but it was uncertain if she would ever regain enough lung capacity to play basketball again. Despite being against the odds Hester had a "never say die" attitude.

Through her strong will and devotion, she fought back and returned to the place she loved - the basketball court.

"I'm personally very thankful for the generosity of groups like The V Foundation because the research and technological development that they have funded helped me get back on the basketball court this season and is helping millions of people out there who are battling cancer right now," Hester said.

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