Nassau Community College Presents MTV Star

NEWS RELEASE

Immediate – February 21, 2007 Alicia Steger (516) 572-9872e-mail: alicia.steger@ncc.edu Nassau Community College Presents MTV Star Diem Brown in “Overcoming Cancer and Other Life Road Blocks” March 22

Garden City, NY— The Nassau Community College Spring 2007 Cultural Program is proud to present MTV Star Diem Brown in “Overcoming Cancer and Other Life Road Blocks” on Thursday, March 22 at 11:30 a.m. in the College Center Building.

Born an army brat to an Aussie and an American, Diem Brown has traveled her whole life, although her personality was mostly formed in Roswell, Georgia, where she was raised. From a young age she loved the idea of being a reporter and learning about other people’s stories, believing that everyone has much more in common than most would think. While pursuing a degree in broadcast communications, Brown was dealt the first major blow in her life—the tragic and sudden loss of her mother. Although she graduated early and obtained her dream job as an entertainment reporter in Los Angeles for the Associated Press, Brown felt something was missing. She felt like she had grown up too fast, so on a whim she decided to try out for MTV’s Real World/Road Rules Challenge. She was chosen and cast in the Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Freshmeat. While training, Brown kept feeling this growing pain in her lower stomach, but she ignored it. Even when the pain would get worse every time she ate and she began to notice some distension in her stomach, she still ignored it. Finally, after playing a game of beach football with her friends, a sudden hit made Brown collapse to the ground and feel the most intense pain she had ever felt. Doctors found a two-liter sized tumor and diagnosed her with stage two ovarian cancer. Brown had one of her ovaries, several lymph nodes and part of one of her fallopian tubes removed. One month later, she headed to Australia for five weeks to compete in intense, made-for-MTV endurance tests.

Brown let MTV follow her through treatment for a documentary. Thankfully, she is now in remission. Diem, a fighter whose first name literally means ‘today,’ tackles her battles one day at a time with enthusiasm, confidence and a ‘never say die’ attitude. She created a website while going through chemotherapy called Live for the Challenge (www. L4TC.com). Diem Brown’s story is inspiring and her energy is contagious.

For more information about Diem Brown’s appearance at Nassau Community College, please call 516- 572-7153.

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