A large and highly successful event here at North Allegheny, TigerThon raises thousands of dollars for pediatric cancer through a dance marathon once a year. As well as attending the event, many students are also part of the TigerThon committee, which works tirelessly all year to ensure that no child fights alone. One NASH student, though, is contributing to this fight against pediatric cancer in her own unique way.

Junior Nishka Edlabadkar plans to shave her head in support of pediatric cancer research at the 7th Annual Raise to Shave event sponsored by the St. Baldrick’s Foundation on March 30th. She has also raised about $400 individually in support of the organization by collecting money from students and teachers around NASH.

“I was wasting time on YouTube, and I came across these videos of people shaving their heads for a foundation called St. Baldrick’s,” Edlabadkar said. “I was curious, so I looked for more information and found out that St. Baldrick’s funded childhood cancer research.”

Edlabadkar saw that the buzzcuts actually raised money to pay for pediatric cancer research and realized that she could be a part of it.

“Childhood cancer research is really underfunded, and this was such a good cause,” she said. “I was tired of having long hair, and I thought it would be an interesting experience, so I decided to sign up to shave my head.”

In regard to how her family reacted, Nishka said, “My mom was surprised when I told her what I wanted to do, but she was okay with me trying it out, especially since it’s for such a good cause.”

Needless to say, most people would be highly reluctant to shave off all of their hair. But for Edlabadkar, it’s all about the cause. 

“I’m not scared about cutting my hair because hair does grow back,” she said. “I’m actually excited to see how it feels, and I don’t mind looking like an egg for a few weeks.”

Beyond contributing to an important cause, she believes there might be some social implications associated with the act of head shaving.

“I think a lot of girls primarily tie how their hair looks to standards of beauty and femininity, but I don’t believe in that at all,” she said. “Hopefully, I can be a role model or an example for girls who do rely on their hair or hide behind it. I think it would be good for people to see that hair shouldn’t matter so much.”

If you would like to donate to Edlabadkar’s fund, you can do so by clicking on this link or donating to her in person. She will be collecting donations all week during school and even after the event on the 30th.