By Collin Denton -

Cheryl Ross (BA, ‘02) was born and raised in Seattle and attended Nathan Hill High School. She fell in love with communication as she began working as an announcer on the student-run station, KNHC 89.5.  After finding her calling, she eventually wound up at the UW, but the years she spent earning her degree would prove to be the most difficult of her entire life. Ross suffered through severe diabetes and double kidney failure. Let alone earning her bachelor’s degree during this tough time, the fact that she has returned to complete her master’s degree in social work is something that she “never would have imagined possible.”

Before she came to the UW, doctors had told Ross that her kidneys were healthy enough for her to continue with college, and that dialysis was unlikely to be necessary for years to come. Unfortunately, she soon learned quite the opposite. Nine months after being given the optimistic diagnosis, things took a severe turn for the worse. In 1994 Ross suffered a nearly life-ending incident of double kidney failure. Diabetes had poisoned both of her kidneys and in order to survive she would need to undergo extensive dialysis treatment.

Thankfully, being the strong and resilient woman that she is, Ross beat the odds and survived. Dialysis is an extremely tough and time-consuming process. But Ross looks back at it  as nothing more than a bump in the road to recovery. She maintained high academic standing throughout the process. “I tried to hold on as long as I could…and now I just seemed silly that I went to school sick.” Many times Ross would leave her last class of the day and go straight to the Northwest Kidney Center for treatment. “It’s not to tell a sad story, because I’m pretty fabulous now,” but, “really I was dying.”

Ross would do her homework assignments, but the burden became too much to handle. “I can’t believe I did that, that was some serious determination.” Through tears of resolve she compared the overwhelming battle between school and therapy to training in a marathon. “When you’re in the race, your legs start hurting or you feel like you’re about to pass out, but you just want to hit the finish line.”

Rigorous kidney dialysis became a hard part of her daily life. For the first year she would receive treatment every other day, but because the therapy was not having the desired results she was forced to switch to a much more intensive schedule. Ross began dialyzing at her home every night for 13-hour blocks while she slept. “The whole point was to try and sleep through it but it’s kind of difficult when you’re hooked to a machine that makes alarm noises cause I rolled over in the wrong way.” Still, the treatment was not working. “Some people can live very great healthy lives on dialysis. I, however, was not one of them and it didn’t help me.” The last option for Ross was a kidney transplant.

On April 28th, 1997 Cheryl Ross received the life saving kidney transplant she so desperately needed. She made a full recovery and returned to UW to finish her degree. “Once I got the clearance that I could resume life, I came right back to school and finished,” Ross said. She is proud, not only of the fact that she completed her degree, but that it came from the University of Washington. “This is a dynamite school!”

After surviving both a kidney transplant and senior finals week, Ross  vowed she would never go to graduate school. Instead, Ross moved to Philadelphia, where she immediately began working as a healthcare lobbyist for the National Kidney Foundation. She was the patient advocate, lobbying for specific healthcare needs in New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C. with great success.

“I bet I got a lot done, but it was really challenging, and I learned a lot about people who make decisions on our (American citizens’) behalf.” She joked about the sentiment that politicians don’t know what they’re doing, saying “it’s kind of true.” After observing a disconnect between politicians and the people who need valuable social services, she decided to do something about the problem instead of watching from the sidelines. “I’m just tired of talking about it. Now I want to do something about it.”

Ross had always been adamant that she would never go to graduate school but, as fate would have it, the UW would again become a part of her life. “You never know what life is going to spin you,” she said. After being inspired by her work in healthcare and her personal experience with Medicare, Ross returned to Seattle in 2010 to pursue a master’s degree in social work. “We can’t argue that the healthcare system in this country is just a mess. I know the Medicare system is just about out of money, but seriously what’s going to happen when seniors can’t get their medication or when another person needs a kidney transplant?” Ross’ concern for people in need is what motivates her. Being the voice for those who are underrepresented will be her immediate focus as she plans to advocate political and social justice.

Purple and gold runs thick in her veins as she acknowledges her alma mater at every turn. “The fact that I decided to come back to school again as a grad student, and to specifically come back here is, again, another testament that this is a pretty awesome school.” The UW School of Social Work is ranked third in the country.

Ross says that the mentors and faculty at UW molded her into the just and courageous person she is today. She specifically wanted to acknowledge the help and personal guidance that Professors Roger Simpson, Gerald Baldasty, and Director of Academic Services, David Sherman, offered in her years as an undergraduate student. “They were my glue. They kept me, I’m sure, from quitting at least a thousand times…they kept me focused and it just helped me tremendously.” As she reflected on the support she has received, Ross added, “I really don’t think I would have made it without them and their support, I really don’t.” Her story is evidence that although UW might be large, one-on-one support is always available.

On the possibility of pursuing a doctoral degree, Ross responded, “Never say never.” She’s leaving open the possibility of becoming a professor. Although she has no plans on running for office, she plans to work on specific social issues, includingexpanding healthcare, wages, equality, and basic provisions, while fighting oppression and discrimination. “Sometimes the decision makers aren’t in office; they’re behind the scenes, so we’ll see.”

Ross currently volunteers at North Helpline in Lake City, where she helps underprivileged people receive social services and helps run the food bank. Her plan for the future: “I’m just going to make the world better, that’s what I’m going to do.”