Have you lost a friend or family member? Do you wonder how you can memorialize or honor their life?
This is the dilemma of Kate Shooshan, whose father died of familial amyloidosis when she was just 11 years old.
Familial amyloidosis, also referred to as hereditary amyloidosis, is a condition in which abnormal protein deposits form in almost every tissue in the body. Deposits most often form in the heart, kidneys, and nervous system. These protein deposits damage the tissues and interfere with how the organs work.
In Kate’s story, she explains that she has the opportunity to use her senior capstone project, an independent research project for gradation, to dig deeper into the rare disease that her father, Harry “Chip” Shooshan, passed away from.
Kate is looking beyond the simple graduation credit.
She wants to move her research project from a static PowerPoint that she presents to a group of her peers, to a dynamic product that reaches a greater forum.
With Kate’s “learn by doing” assignment, she is seeking to education people in her community and beyond about the disease. Some doctors don’t even know familial amyloidosis exists.
Kate could have taken her senior project into any direction:
- following a dream,
- fulfilling a need,
- creating a work of art, or
- simply using her talents and energy to impact a larger community
In her heartfelt and well-crafted project, she is able to do it all – and honor her father too.
