Penn State freshman battling cancer inspires teammates, national social media movement

Penn State freshman Teddy Perelli remembers the first time he met fellow swimmer Nikolette Nolte.

The two had committed to swim for Penn State last fall, and had gotten to know each other through a group chat with other commits. But they didn’t meet in person until April, when Perelli, from the Charlotte, N.C., area, made the drive to Greensboro to watch some of his friends compete in the YMCA National Championship meet, where Nolte was also competing.

“She gave me the biggest hug I think I’ve ever received,” Perelli said. “It’s so incredible that someone can be that positive, but she’s just a light and she makes me so happy.”

Just a few weeks after arriving on campus in September, Nolte received devastating news. The cancer she had beaten in 2017 while at Kutztown Area High School was back, and this time in a different form — leukemia.

Perelli first found out about the news through a group text message while in chemistry class. Marget Shelly, Nolte’s roommate and fellow freshman swim team member, received a call from Nolte herself, as she was walking through the parking lot of her dorm building on her way home from practice.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, but I have leukemia and they’re transporting me home tonight,” Shelly recalls Nolte telling her from a hospital bed at Mount Nittany Medical Center.

Even though they had only known each other for a little while, Shelly said she and Nolte had grown close, and she was shocked and devastated by the news.

“I just started to cry in the middle of the parking lot,” she said.

But then she dried her eyes and called an Uber so she could get to the hospital in time to say goodbye to her friend before she was transported to the Lehigh Valley Hospital.

#NikiStrong goes viral

It didn’t take long after Nolte’s diagnosis for her teammates to decide they wanted to do something to show their support.

It started with a cheer.

Before their meet in Virginia on Oct. 6, Shelly said that instead of saying “one, two, three, State!,” The person leading the cheer said “Niki” and the rest responded “Strong!”

From that was born the viral hashtag “NikiStrong.” Shelly said that she and other members of the women’s team came up with the idea to show Nolte the extent of the support she had.

Shelly said she expected people to show support, but was surprised by the volume.

Photos of teams from across the country — and even some internationally — holding signs that say “Niki Strong” started popping up all over social media.

Ohio State, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio University, Kentucky, Villanova, King’s College, Auburn, Georgia, Arkansas, West Virginia, Stanford, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Cabrini University, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, California, Georgia Tech and Duke are only some of the approximately 100 collegiate swimming and diving teams that have showed their support.

“There are teams I’ve never heard of, colleges that, I’ll see their posts and feel bad because I don’t know this college, but ‘thank you for doing this,’” Shelly said.

Penn State athletes, Olympians show support

At Penn State, the football, men’s and women’s hockey, soccer, lacrosse, women’s basketball, gymnastics and more teams have joined in the #NikiStrong movement.

“I was sort of hoping the Penn State community would respond and they did, because we’re so aware of cancer and how it affects people and their families,” Perelli said. “But knowing that there are so many teams across the county, and across the world even, was just incredible to me.”

Olympians Lenny Krayzelburg, Kaitlyn Sandeno, Ryan Lochte, Conor Dwyer, Tom Shields and Jessica Hardy have also showed their support.

Fundraising campaign launches

Building off the success of the social media campaign, Penn State’s swimming and diving program announced Wednesday the details of a fundraising campaign to raise money to help Nolte’s family with their medical bills, as well as to help other families dealing with pediatric cancer.

Those inspired by Nolte’s fight can donate to the fundraiser through a GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/nikistrong. After only 10 hours of being live, the campaign had already raised nearly one-tenth of its $10,000 goal.

In compliance with NCAA rules, the fundraiser will be overseen by Penn State compliance staff, and the funds will be distributed to the Nolte family for documented treatment-related expenses. Any excess funds will be donated to Thon and the Jessie Rees Foundation, both philanthropies that support families dealing with pediatric cancer, as well as researchers working to find treatments and cures.

“I’ve been very proud of my team and the way they’ve handled things, both here and in practice, at our meets and of course just the volume of response. It has been kind of remarkable,” head coach Tim Murphy said.

When recruiting Nolte, Murphy said he was drawn to her presence and spirit.

“She just had a presence about her that after her visit here to Penn State, we (the coaches) looked at each other and said, ‘We want this kind of kid here for our team.’ And since she’s arrived on campus, she just has a presence about her,” Murphy said. “She hasn’t been around us very long but she’s made her presence felt. We miss her right now.”

‘Swimming for Niki’

Nolte’s teammates agree, even though she’s not physically with them, her presence is felt — through the “NN” they write on their arms in Sharpie before meets, to the temporary tattoos they got made in her honor.

“I think it makes me feel very grateful and very blessed that I am healthy and I can swim, because yes, it’s very hard and sometimes you don’t want to wake up for 6 a.m. practice, but I can and I am here,” Shelly said. “So every time I get in the pool, I do it for her because I know she would want me to be the best person I can be, and I just feel inspired by her.”

After 32 days, Nolte has been released from the hospital and is recovering at home with her family.

Nolte responded well to this latest round of chemotherapy treatments, Murphy said her family told him, but there’s still more work to be done.

“I’ve spoken to Niki a handful of times, and her parents, and they’ve been really grateful and appreciative of the support from everyone, and anything we can do to pick up her spirits and get her back here and get her back in the water, which I know she’s chomping at the bit to do,” Murphy said.

Until that time comes, Nolte’s teammates say they are going to continue to swim each meet and each practice “for Niki.”

“‘Swimming for Niki’ means we’re going to go lights out every time. We’re going to go as hard as we can because we know we’re doing this because she can’t do it right now, but we know she’s going to be back soon and we’re really excited for it,” Perelli said. “But for right now, we’re trying to swim as hard as we can and as diligently as we can so we can make this environment as supportive for her as we can.”

This story was originally published October 25, 2018 at 8:30 AM.