When Jared Andersen was in 7th grade, he developed a passion for weightlifting after joining his brother in their district high school’s weight room. Although it would be two years until Andersen was a student at the school himself, he quickly became a dedicated user of the room.
By the time Andersen entered Firth High School in Firth, Idaho, the room was already “everything to [him].”
Although the room was everything Andersen and his weightlifting passion wanted, the room was actually in quite a sorry state. Some of the exercise stations had been made in the school’s shop class. The space had originally been a typing lab, back when typewriters were still around. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all worse for wear.
“I’ve wanted to fix this place up since I started lifting,” he said. But he never had the means to do so.
In his junior year of high school, last year, Andersen was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. A lump had begun developing in his hand, but he paid it little heed, thinking it was just a cyst. When it persisted for months, he finally went to the doctor who diagnosed it as cancer. Andersen immediately began chemotherapy because his doctor feared the cancer would spread to his lymph nodes.
Throughout this time, Andersen continued to religiously lift weights. “Lifting weights isn’t recommended for cancer patients, but I decided to give it a try,” he wrote in a paper for school, “The results of lifting almost every day made my life better. My outlook of my situation was brighter and more hopeful.”
Andersen was soon approached by the Make-A-Wish foundation. When presented the $100,000 however, Andersen didn’t choose to take a personal trip or meet someone famous. He chose, instead to put the money toward renovating the high school’s weight room.
The renovated weight room is more than anyone expected. Andersen had been anticipating a simple paint job, but Make-A-Wish worked with Bodybuilding.com to completely transform the space and fill it with the best machines and equipment.
The room has since been renamed “The Jared Andersen Weight Room,” and Andersen is just happy to know that he was a part of it all. “It’s kind of like a legacy… Something to be remembered by.”
Andersen is currently in remission.
