Breaking barriers: UF doctoral candidate and cancer survivor creates nonprofit to uplift college students battling cancer

Most students spend their time after graduation celebrating with family and friends or job hunting. Natalya Green, a Fall 2023 graduate from the University of Florida, was in the beginning stages of her Ph.D. studies in education leadership & policy.

But instead of going to class, she was going to an oncologist.

Green was diagnosed with breast cancer after finishing her Ph.D. qualifying exams, just five months after earning her master’s degree in educational leadership from the UF College of Education, following her bachelor’s degree in elementary education and teaching from the University of Central Florida.

Heartbroken, Green immediately began searching for communities or resources for students battling cancer. To her disappointment, there were few options, none of which seemed to be inclusive of the varying situations that cancer creates.

“I wished there was a space for college students who are fighting this disease to be able to safely come together and…be with someone who is going through a similar experience,” says Green. “Not only in cancer but also in education.”

Driven by this vision, Green created a nonprofit.

CancerCollegeAlliance, or CCA, supports young adults in pursuing their higher education degrees while overcoming the challenges of cancer treatment through community, education, support, healthcare, and empowerment.

The organization offers support in various ways, such as a community chat platform via GroupMe and virtual community activities, such as education or arts-based sessions.

CCA also shares a faculty and adviser hand-out with area institutions. Green connects this to CCA’s goal, which is helping students feel more supported by better preparing their campus to handle their cancer diagnosis.

Back on the UF campus, Green even changed her dissertation topic to conduct research that explores the narratives of current and former college students diagnosed with cancer. She aims to understand the effectiveness of their support systems through these students’ narratives.

Though CCA is a new organization, Green has innovative plans in the works, like the CCA Campus Advocate Program. This program helps students or faculty create an on-campus chapter to spread awareness or support students with cancer at their own institutions.

“My team and I have our own personal experiences with cancer; we take our experiences and support each other, which reflects how we support others,” says Green. “This shared compassion is what makes CCA what it is.”

Green also looks forward to collecting donations by the end of the fall to begin scholarship distribution through CCA in the spring. Green says these scholarships will aid students with their finances, either medically or academically.

“Our core vision at CCA is establishing ourselves as a national resource by providing support to college students battling cancer,” says Green. “Our goal is to be there for them every step of the way – offering guidance, providing community, and reminding them that cancer is NOT a barrier to your education.”