Sara Miller, BSBA’18, has been named to the Her Campus list of the most ambitious, talented and forward-thinking college women for her work in encouraging organ donation among college students. Sara is founder of SODA, Student Organ Donation Advocates. Sara is majoring in health care management, and knows firsthand the power of transplants. Her sister Laura died when she was 14 of a brain tumor, and Laura’s liver saved the life of a teacher in New York.
The greatest tragedy of my life has fueled my passion to save lives. When I was 12-years-old, my older sister, Laura, passed away suddenly from a cancerous brain tumor. Her liver, which our family agreed to donate, saved a woman’s life in New York; that woman’s name is Trish. The devastating loss of Laura, combined with the miraculous story of her having saved a life, has motivated me to advocate on behalf of organ donation, and hopefully save more lives. Founding SODA and empowering others to share their passion for donation has helped me find meaning in an otherwise senseless loss. By leading an effort to mobilize passionate students, I can be part of a life-saving movement, and at the same time show others that even through the darkest times, one can find hope.
The Her Campus profile of Sara states, “Sara has created a huge on-campus conversation that sharing is caring. And by sharing, we mean blood, bone marrow and organs. A literal lifesaver, Sara is determined to spread the word about organ donation to the college generation; and, we have to say, she’s done a pretty unbelievable job so far.”
Her Campus, the college media and marketing website culled through over 1,000 powerful nominations and conducted interviews with many incredible applicants to narrow their list down to 22 Under 22 Most Inspiring College Women.
“The level of talent we saw among the nominations made the selection process incredibly difficult,” said Stephanie Kaplan Lewis, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Her Campus. “But we could not be more in awe of the truly aspirational group at which we have arrived.”
Nominees were evaluated based on a mix of criteria including leadership experience, academic excellence, demonstrated passion for their cause, and ambitious goals for their future. The variety in the final list is astounding—from advocating for transgender rights, to founding nonprofits, to leading the way for future generations of women in engineering.
#OlinKudos, Sara!
Source: Her Campus News Release
