Source: Detroit Free Press

Author: Detroit Free Press

Tierney should be considered for the I AM SPORT award as she is a compassionate, kind student athlete who makes giving back to others a priority on top of her studies and rigorous training schedule. She volunteers her time in many ways, most notably she is passionate about working with children can be seen as she volunteered with Detroit Swims/YMCA in the special needs program, working with children with both physical and learning differences. In addition she is a Children's leader at her church, St. Paul on the Lake, and spends time on Sunday leading the Children's Liturgy of the Word.

She has organized book drives for a K-8 school in Nigeria and has helped to build the library of a newly opened school in a remote village. On top of all of this, her true passion has grown from an experience she had as a child. When Tierney was just 4 years old her mother was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of Breast Cancer. While she remembers her mom being sick, much of what happened, surgery, chemo and radiation - she did not fully understand until she became a teenager. This experience prompted Tierney to create a small team for the Detroit Race for the Cure her freshman year of high school. This was all Tierney, the Race for the Cure was not something her family had ever participated in, Tierney felt passionate and she signed up her mom and she to be participants.

She recruited a few friends and their moms and began to fund raise. The first year she raised a few thousand dollars. This became her passion and for the next two years (as a sophomore and junior) she started the process earlier, grew her team and reached out to more friends, family and used social media to help share her mission and raise even more money to ensure no other Mom, Sister, Grandmother or friend had to go through what her mom did. Here is an example of what Tierney shares as to why she is so passionate: "I want to raise not only money, but also awareness about breast cancer. I want to help the women who are currently going through something my mom overcame 12 years ago. My mom is such a strong woman.

She is brave, adventurous, hard working, and is extremely caring. Cancer is a demeaning battle and she fought day and night to overcome it. I, being very little when she was going through this, did not fully grasp the severity of cancer and the strength my mom possesses. My mom is my best friend. She is extremely loving, caring, and one of the hardest working people I know. She is not the type to complain about the awful day she had, rather she disregards her current situation and always focuses on helping others. Now that I am older I am able to comprehend how strong my mom is and how strenuous the battle was that she fought to beat breast cancer.My mom is a sister, mother, wife, daughter, friend, and a survivor. I want to help all of the other mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, and friends that are currently facing the same battle my mom did. I want to do this for my mom because she does so much for me and I am so grateful to have her in my life. She is my role model, my mother, my number one fan, and most importantly, my best friend. Anyone who is interested, come run with us! Or please consider helping us raise money so that more people like my mom can celebrate 12 years of living cancer free."

This passion helped Tierney grow her team and in 2018 she and her team raised just under $8,000. She came back even more determined last year to set new records of fund raising to help spread the word. In 2019 Tierney personally raised over $10,000 and led her even larger team to raise just under $17,000. The only team to beat this Junior from Mercy High School was Ford Motor Company. Tierney was recognized as the top individual fund raiser at the Detroit Race and both WDIV and Fox news interviewed her about her passion and motivation for the Detroit Race for the Cure. Tierney's focus and dedication as an athlete has translated to her focus and dedication to helping make the world a better a place, a better place for children, moms, sisters and friends. We hope you consider Tierney a worthy nominee for this award and recognize the impact she is making on the lives of others.