#NikiStrong Fundraiser Launched for Penn State Athlete Battling Cancer

Penn State Athletics announced a fundraiser created to help freshman swimmer Nikolette Nolte and her family cover medical costs associated with her leukemia treatment. The GoFundMe page for the fundraiser set a goal of $10,000, and any surplus funds generated will be donated to THON and the Jesse Rees Foundation.

Nolte was first diagnosed with primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma during her junior year of high school. She was found to be cancer free at the start of her senior year and then went on to become a two-time District champion, a NISCA All-American, and a finalist at the state and national levels for her high school swim team.

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Never in a million years did I think I would be making this post, but here we are. Unfortunately, life happens in crazy ways, and I am back home receiving chemotherapy treatment for this crazy word called cancer. My previous treatment mutated cells in my bone marrow, and I am fighting high risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia. I have a long road ahead, but I will be back up to Happy Valley soon! #Round2 #ThumbsUp #CancerFighter #BoneMarrowTransplant

A post shared by Nikolette (@nikinolte) on Sep 30, 2018 at 5:30pm PDT

Nolte received a second cancer diagnosis — high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia — just a year after she originally became cancer free.

Her story has gained national attention, and swim teams across the country expressed their words of support along with many of Penn State’s other athletic teams.