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| Jack Andraka and Jill Driscoll |
At Casino Night 2012, we were lucky enough to come up with the winning bid for a lunch date with Jack Andraka, the 15-year-old whiz who developed an innovative test for the early detection of pancreatic cancer. In late November, we flew out to Maryland for a Sunday buffet brunch on Baltimore's Inner Harbor, with Jack and his mother, Jane.
We'd originally heard about Jack and his work through the Michael Rolfe Foundation, so we were already impressed with his research and the many accolades it had received, including the grand prize at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair. But to actually meet Jack and hear a first-hand account of his research was even more impressive. Jack has a passion for science, a love of problem-solving, and a contagious enthusiasm for life. What amazed us the most was that, as much as Jack's work has benefitted pancreatic cancer research, he's just as interested in research aimed at solving other problems, in other areas of medicine, and even in different fields outside of medicine altogether.
Getting to meet Jack and Jane and hear their stories was, for us, a fascinating tour of curiosity, wonder and inspiration. Before we knew it, we'd all been back to the buffet line one too many times, and it was time for us all to be getting on our way. We bid Jack and Jane farewell and wished them the best with Jack's continuing research. Hopefully, another lunch with Jack will be up for auction at the Michael Rolfe Foundation's Casino Night this year, and some other lucky people will have a chance to meet Jack and Jane. (But they'll have to outbid us first.)
