Hillard was one of the many who shared stories of their battle with cancer at the Relay For Life event at Jenison Field House, which began Friday night and ran until Saturday morning.

The event was put on by Spartans Fighting Cancer, with many other student groups on campus in attendance in a competition to see who raised the most money for the American Cancer Society.

“Cancer never sleeps, so neither do we,” Spartans Fighting Cancer President Devin Amez said. “It’s an all-night event, not a run, not a race. It is a time to remember who we lost and continue to fight cancer.”

Relay For Life started with a handful of survivors sharing their stories. The event continued with many more upbeat and emotional events, such as the survivor and caregiver walk, luminaria lighting and 7-Up Flip Cup Tournament.

The organization raises money year-round, and raised $95,000 prior to the event, with an ultimate goal of raising $140,000.

Prior to the event, the organization had a total of 900 people preregistered, but Amez said she wouldn’t be surprised if that number was doubled.

Ashley Wood, communication junior, was one of the thousands of students in attendance, and she had a personal motive for attending the event. She was diagnosed with cancer in May 2012, but four or five months and two surgeries later, she’s cancer-free.

“You never know what everyone is battling, and fighting cancer gave me a new outlook on life,” Wood said.

Similar to Wood, Lyman Briggs freshman Danielle Puckett felt a strong pull to attend the event, noting she lost her grandfather to skin cancer before she was able to meet him.

“I don’t want to see it happen to any more people than it has to,” Puckett said. “If we could just continue to keep raising money for cures for cancer that would be awesome.”