At Selma High, friendship is much more than simply seeing your peers in each of your classes and going about your day. This is why seniors Karen Urieta and Vivianna Ruiz decided to take action, participating in a campaign to help support a close friend.
Collaborating with Blood Cancer United, Karen explained that it expanded beyond just helping their friend.
“This campaign is for all individuals affected by blood cancer, such as leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, and more,” Urieta shared.
Both Karen and Vivianna shared that this campaign was specifically in honor of their best friend Temo Vasquez, who was diagnosed with Leukemia ALL B-cell on September 8th, 2025.
Vivianna then shared her more personal story behind joining the campaign.
“[Blood cancer] showed me firsthand the effects it has on its patients. It gives me the experience of having a loved one going through such a difficult time,” Ruiz shared.
Karen and Vivianna’s role for this campaign consists of being Selma’s first Blood Cancer Representatives. More specifically, they are Student Visionaries of the Year, a philanthropic leadership program under BCU.
After learning about the campaign and everything that encapsulates it, Temo explained his reaction to it all.
“I just couldn’t be more grateful and blessed with the support I have. To have the opportunity to be recognized and supported is a debt I can’t ever repay to my friends and the fundraiser,” Vasquez stated.
Furthermore, Temo clarified what he wished for people to know about this campaign as well as the disease itself.
“This [project] is raising money for thousands of people all around for better treatment and overall research to prevent blood cancer so people, like me, can finally get to know the reason why [blood cancer exists],” he described.
He then followed up with, “I feel like people should know that even though cancer sounds scary and you immediately think of the end, just like I did, cancer is different for everyone and it’s definitely not the end [for me] because I have so much to live for.”
Lastly, Temo gave advice on how people can help assist fellow patients in need.
“Just give support and help them emotionally. A person can only do so much for someone battling cancer, so I feel like the best thing to do is just being there for them. It helps having someone to talk to and just listening helps too. I’d take someone listening to me over someone giving me a gift for comfort,” he described.
Karen and Vivianna also shared how students at Selma High, or even Selma residents, could help support their campaign.
“Click the link in our Instagram bio (bearthefight4temo), scan the QR code on our letter, or search “Student Visionaries of the Year Fresno” on Google, click “Find a Campaign”, and search “Bear the Fight for Temo”, they both shared.
