ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- The fight against breast cancer is personal to Liz Hansen.
 
The College of Saint Benedict swimmer and member of the Bennie track-and-field team lost both her grandmothers to the disease, and her mother Jen has battled it as well.
 
Jen was diagnosed when Liz was in middle school, and though her fight remains ongoing, she is currently cancer-free.
 
"I'm an only child and that was a pretty scary time," Hansen recalls of her mother's initial diagnosis. "Especially because of what happened with both my grandmothers. They were diagnosed within six months of each other and died within six months of each other as well.
 
"So this has always been such an important issue in our family."
 
That personal connection ensured Hansen was an enthusiastic participant when the CSB swim team raised $1,240 through the sale of pink "Barbie Bennie" t-shirts during Breast Cancer Awareness Month last October.
 
This year, though, Hansen – a member of CSB's Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) – wanted to expand those efforts to include the school's other teams.
 
And, with the help of CSB assistant athletic director and SAAC advisor Jon Roesch, she's enlisted not just her fellow Bennie athletes, but members of SJU's SAAC as well.
 
Promotion from athletes at both schools has helped drive sales of a t-shirt featuring a pink ribbon with the words Bennies and Johnnies intersecting at the CSB and SJU logo. Below it is a hashtag that reads #nobodyfightsalone.
 
So far, over 200 shirts have been sold – raising almost $1,000. The t-shirt sale continues through this week, and donations will also be taken across the full schedule of CSB home athletic events this month.
 
"I wanted to spread the word to make sure we made this as big as we possibly could," Hansen said.
 
"I've never taken on something like this before, so it's been a learning experience," Hansen said. "There's a lot more that goes into getting a fundraiser organized than you'd think. But Jon has been so helpful. He's supported this 100 percent and provided me with a lot with advice and guidance."
 
Roesch, who was hired at the school this past August, has been impressed with the time and effort Hansen has put in.
 
"She's just done a phenomenal job," he said. "She's gotten everything put together and organized. I think she's really picked up a lot about how a process like this works. It isn't always easy.
 
"But Liz has been a rock star," said Roesch. "She's handled everything that's come her way."
 
Such dedication is nothing new to Hansen, an exercise and health science major who will graduate this May despite only being a junior. Before that happens, though, she still has her final seasons of swimming and track-and-field to complete.
 
"Last year, I battled shoulder injuries (during swimming) and that made it difficult," said Hansen, a 2022 Mahtomedi High School graduate. "But this year my goal is just to have fun. It's my last year and I want to perform to the best of my abilities and support our younger athletes as well. I want to make sure everyone has a really positive experience and pulls together."
 
That's the same spirit of cooperation she's drawing on to fight breast cancer.
 
"I think all of us want to be part of something that's bigger than ourselves," she said. "We want to find places where we can have a real impact. This is something a lot of people – including people close to me – have had to deal with. So I want to do anything I can to help, and it's been really nice to see how many other people feel the same way."