January 14, 2002 UCSC staffer and student will carry Olympic torch By Jennifer McNulty Elizabeth Conerly was a broke UC Berkeley student as Mother's Day approached last year, but being penniless inspired her to give the best gift ever: Conerly nominated her mother, Trish Virgadamo, a longtime UCSC employee, to carry the Olympic torch on a segment of its cross-country journey to Salt Lake City. Elizabeth Conerly nominated her mother, Trish Virgadamo, to carry the Olympic torch. Photo: Jennifer McNulty The nomination, and the news that she was selected from more than 200,000 nominees, still stuns Virgadamo, who will carry the torch along a portion of West Cliff Drive on Friday, January 18. "It was the greatest Mother's Day gift in the world," said Virgadamo. "This is the biggest thrill and honor of my life." It wasn't that long ago that Virgadamo and her family weren't sure she would ever run again. Virgadamo, who began running with Conerly, 22, and her sister Melissa, 24, when the girls were on the Santa Cruz High School track team, was sidelined in 1994-95 by Hodgkins lymphoma. Virgadamo was off work for 11 months, and though she beat the cancer, her lungs were scarred by the radiation treatment and she hasn't ru UCSC freshman Paul Stanfield will carry the flame in San Luis Obispo. n since. In her nomination letter, Conerly, who graduated last month, cited her mother's courage and determination during the illness. "She is so positive," Conerly said of her mother in a description that will resonate with anyone who has worked with Virgadamo over the years. "Even when she was sick, she stood up and fought it and didn't let it get her down. Through all of it, she was there for my sister and me, getting even more involved in our lives. It was just beyond belief." Virgadamo's determination is evident in her desire to run her .2-mile segment of the relay Friday morning. "I used to walk along West Cliff every lunch hour before I got sick, and I ran several races there," said Virgadamo, whose family and friends will line the route to cheer her on. "This is so incredible," said Virgadamo, who has worked at UCSC since 1986. "It's just the most amazing thing. It's very special to have my daughter think of me in this regard." Virgadamo is one of 66 local torchbearers participating in the Monterey/Seaside portion of the relay. Two days earlier, on January 16, UCSC freshman Paul Stanfield will carry the Olympic flame in San Luis Obispo in honor of Charlie Parrish, a longtime neighbor who succumbed to cancer September 30. Stanfield's "leadership, determination, and compassion" were cited by the torchbearer selection committee, but Stanfield felt Parrish deserved the nomination as a man who had the ability to inspire others while attempting to overcome his own adversity. The Olympic flame was lit November 19 in Olympia, Greece, and is kept in a lantern that has traveled with the relay. Each day, a torch is lit from the closely guarded lantern, and torchbearers pass the flame from torch to torch during the relay. The Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Torch will have traveled more than 13,500 miles across the United States in 65 days by the time it arrives in Salt Lake City for the winter games. A total of 11,500 torchbearers are participating in the relay, which is traveling through 46 states. Virgadamo will carry the torch on West Cliff Drive between David and Columbia streets. Her segment is scheduled to begin at 7:50 a.m. Return to Front Page