Theresa (Lang) Schmidt

June 1, 2002

Dear Shelly,

I was on the Whirly Girls  website looking for a gift for a Mother's Day gift, and I saw the section involving writing about someone nifty in your life.  Instantly, I thought of my friend Theresa, better known as T.  Now, the hard part, where to start??

Theresa (Lang) Schmidt and I were college roommates & teammates on the women's basketball team at North Dakota State University here in Fargo.  We were inseparable, the 6 of us that is, and we were know as "the girls of 916".  We lived in a big house on College Street, all 6 of us, T, Molly, Brenna, Steph, Anne & Heidi.  We were quite the bunch and we had quite the time together.

Explaining  our group of friends I feel is necessary to build the type of person Theresa is.  She is a talented.  Not only at sports, but also in the classroom.  Her smarts have led her to work for Corporate Marshall Fields as a Senior Business Analyst.  Her goal is to become a buyer for Marshall Fields.  I feel that this will happen soon, not only because she wants it, but also because she is a goal-setter and a go-getter.  She is willing to put in more to get something she wants.

Theresa is the kind of person that lights up a room.  Her personality is one of a kind, and she has the incredible ability to make everyone around her feel special.  Her spunky and upbeat vigor for life is contagious.  It is because of this, that Theresa has many fans.  Who couldn't forget that fun girl with the bright red hair?

Just earlier this week, in our daily email chain that the 6 of us share in, we got the following email from T:

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Good Morning Ladies,

I sort of had a revealing moment just now.  I was looking in the mirror and saying out loud to myself, "Very bad hair day!".  At that very moment I stopped  and recalled  a time in my life when I wasn't fortunate  enough to say that.   I had promised myself that I would NEVER complain again about bad hair  (once mine grew back).  How quickly I had forgotten to enjoy the little things  and appreciate life.  It took cancer to make me realize what's really important  in life.  Unfortunately I have shifted away from enjoying all the little things that life has to offer.  Ironically it took having a bad hair day to make me see that again.  I just wanted to say thanks to all of you for being such great friends!  Thanks for helping me survive the toughest time of my life and thanks for continuing to help me celebrate the best that life has to offer.  Very deep, I know, but I really wanted to share my revelation with you.  Don't stress about life because things will always work out.

Love you,

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On December 31st, 1998, we learned of the news, Theresa  had cancer.  How could a 21 year old woman so full of life possibly have cancer?  It didn't make any sense.  Life was not fair.  I remember standing in the hospital room and crying with Theresa.  We were scared and unsure what the future would bring.  Those were the first and last tears that I saw come out of Theresa.  After she accepted the fact that she had cancer, (a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma the size of a grapefruit in her chest) she turned into a fighter. 

Once a month, she would head down to the Mayo Clinic with her then boyfriend, now husband Doug Schmidt,  for her treatments and be back in class on Monday.  Theresa's faith was strong, and she had a support system that could last for miles.  I remember that there were even times when Theresa would be the one comforting anyone of us girls, instead of us Comforting  her!  That is just like T though, a true self-less person.  

As far as her basketball career, it was far from over...even though she was not the go-to player exactly like before, she still was very important on the court.  Her role had changed, but in no way did her sense of team or willingness to work.  She helped others, and just by merely looking at her, life was quickly put into perspective.  Theresa played in several games with her new wig and the double-stick tape that she wanted to buy stock in!  My favorite memory is the first game that she got to play in, when she sat in front of the scorer's table at the Bison Sport's Arena,  the crowd couldn't wait for her to step foot back on the court...but the best, was when she hit that huge 3 pointer in the corner, a shot that she was famous for!  I knew that shot would go in, no matter what, it would go in.  And it did.  And the crowd erupted!  It felt as if we had just won the National Championship!  It was awesome.  It still gives me the goosebumps. 

Theresa has been cancer free for almost 3 years now.  It is amazing to think back that not so long ago, she was very sick, but now she is a successful business woman, a new home-owner and a wife!  And not to mention one of my best friends!  Theresa has taught me so much.  She has taught me to always have faith, always stay positive and no matter what things will work out. 

Emails like the one above help remind me of just how special she is.

I believe that Theresa L. Schmidt has lived through something incredible, and does deserve  Whirliness in her life!

Thank you,

Molly Vigen