Cancer Survivor Colby Berman Lives His Dream With Miami Canes

When Colby Berman walked into the Miami Hurricanes' basketball facility on Friday, the 21-year-old cancer survivor was about to live the dream he'd held since childhood.

Berman survived acute lymphoblastic lymphoma as a toddler. Today, he lives with intractable epilepsy, but neither challenge has dimmed his spirit or his love for the Canes.

"I've been working with Colby for two years, and I can tell you he's a light," said Maya Perez, a student at Southwest Miami Senior High School where Berman attends. "He genuinely lights up a classroom."

The three-day VIP experience came together through the national nonprofit Dream On 3 and the Miami Collegiate Dream Team. Berman got an enthusiastic sendoff from his school, complete with the Canes mascot and cheer squad celebrating his big weekend.

The experience gave him behind-the-scenes access to meet players and coaches. He also threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a University of Miami baseball game and attended the Canes' matchup against Louisville on Saturday.

"He's always helping kids. He's always joking around, he's a class clown," Perez added. "He can make everyone laugh."

His special education teacher, Ileana Desosa-Lopez, watched the dream unfold. "Colby was chosen as one of the special young adults to make his dream come true with his favorite sports," she said.

Sunny's Take

The planning took weeks, but watching Colby's face light up made every detail worth it. "A lot of planning went into this weekend, but this is more than we even could've expected from this school," said Maddie, a captain for the Collegiate Dream Team. His classmates and teachers showed up in force, proving that sometimes the biggest wins happen when a community rallies around one person's joy.

For a young man who's faced more medical challenges than most people experience in a lifetime, this weekend represented pure happiness with his favorite team and the people who believe in him.