Hailey Raskob, a North Smithfield High School senior, has lived in the area and played tennis for as long as she can remember. She has held the No. 1 singles position on her school team for three consecutive years. Her favorite classes are the school-to-career internship program, criminal justice and symphonic band in which she plays percussion. For her senior project, in December she organized and ran a tennis tournament at Rally Point Racquet in Greenville to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association.
PBN: What first drew you to the research of the Alzheimer’s Association and why did you choose to set up a tennis tournament to benefit the organization?
RASKOB: As my senior project, I wanted to pick two things that were very close to me and make it as memorable and fun as possible. I chose to run a tennis tournament because I knew I would have fun planning it, and I also thought it would be a great way to reach out to the community. In addition, I wanted it to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association because Alzheimer’s has impacted my family for the past eight years when my grandmother, whom we call memere, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia. It has affected her ability to remember people, daily needs and activities, and has weakened her ability to make decisions, rendering her incapable of living by herself. I wanted to raise awareness of the disease because Alzheimer’s is increasingly becoming the most common deadly disease.
PBN: How has your memere’s diagnosis impacted your relationship with her?
RASKOB: I love my memere very much, but our relationship has definitely changed since her symptoms got increasingly worse. My memere got to a point where she couldn’t remember my name, had no clue who I was and couldn’t have conversations with me without forgetting them within five minutes. It’s heartbreaking knowing she and I can’t share our memories because she does not remember. I have learned over the years to be as sympathetic as I can to her and her condition and help care for her while she is going through this difficult time.
PBN: Is this your first fundraising endeavor and would you consider continuing your efforts to benefit Alzheimer’s research once you graduate high school?
RASKOB: This event was my first fundraising event and I will absolutely be doing this as an annual fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association. In total, we raised over $700, and I am so happy with how the event turned out.
I had so much fun working with my mentor, Brien Morissette, and he helped me create a fundraiser that was not only fun but could help spread awareness for the Association. When I ran this fundraiser, it gave me such a great feeling knowing I was helping someone in need or furthering research of the disease. It gives me hope that one day we can help find a cure.
PBN: What did you learn from this experience and is there anything you would do differently?
RASKOB: I learned running a tournament was not as easy as some people make it out. I had to make sure I had enough court availability, I had enough donations and I had enough participants in the event itself. It took my mentor and me approximately three months to get it all planned and ready to go. If I were to change anything, I would have scheduled the tournament for a later date just for the sake of having more time to plan it all out.
PBN: What do you plan to study in college?
RASKOB: I recently committed to Rhode Island College, where I will be studying business management in the hopes of owning my own tennis club when I am older.
Emily Gowdey-Backus is a PBN staff writer.
