Mark Varney poses for a photo between Kenzi Zimmerman-Frost (left) and Lauren Rolfsen near a sign dedicated to the memory of Mark's daughter, Sophie, who died in December 2020 after a two-year battle with DIPG. Zimmerman-Frost and Rolfsen are the recipients of the inaugural Sophie Strong academic grant. (Photo by Kristi Zimmerman-Frost, used with permission)
PORTAGE, MI – It was the type of connection no child should have to make, but Sophie Varney and Kenzi Zimmerman-Frost managed to find some levity in their bond, as they battled pediatric cancer in their early days at Portage Central High School.
Varney was diagnosed in 2018 with a rare brain tumor known as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), while Zimmerman-Frost battled leukemia, and the two members of Portage Central’s class of 2022 used their shared experience to uplift each other during the difficult times.
“I was already a bit through my treatment when she got diagnosed, so I think for both of us, having someone to talk to and relate to was really nice,” Zimmerman-Frost said. “We were able to talk about stuff like how your hair grows in different, like curly instead of straight, and we were just able to joke about stuff like that.”
Zimmerman-Frost eventually recovered from her illness, and Varney, with love and support from her family and Portage community, staged a courageous battle against her terminal cancer – even playing high school softball and maintaining a 4.0 GPA in the classroom – before passing away on Dec. 20, 2020.
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Shortly Varney’s diagnosis, “Sophie Strong” became a rallying cry throughout Portage, and those in the community and beyond raised thousands of dollars for DIPG research through the ChadTough Defeat DIPG Foundation, which is named after Chad Carr, who died of the inoperable brain cancer in 2015 at age 5.
In addition to the cancer research fundraising efforts, Sophie’s father, Mark Varney, wanted to help his daughter’s legacy live on locally, so in 2021 through the help of the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, he created the Sophie Strong Memorial Fund, which bestowed its first financial aid awards last week to Zimmerman-Frost and Lauren Rolfsen, who was also a friend and 2022 classmate of Sophie.
“When Sophie died, I said I have to do something, and I have to do something locally,” Mark said. “Her mom (Kim Varney) is really involved in ChadTough, and that’s great, but I really wanted to have something with more of a local impact.”
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Mark, who has been a social worker for more than three decades, sought Portage Central seniors that were going into an academic field designed to help people.
Zimmerman-Frost and Rolfsen fit that description, and each will receive $2,022 dollars in grant money toward their college education.
“It means a lot to me because I actually knew Sophie and had a couple of classes with her, and she was such an amazing person and just to be a part of this process and to be a part of her legacy is really something truly memorable,” said Rolfsen, who plans to study occupational therapy at the University of Indianapolis.
Rolfsen met Sophie in their sophomore biology class and remembers fondly not only her funny and positive personality, but also her ability to excel in the classroom.
“Sophie’s the definition of a really hard worker, and she always had her homework done and was willing to help others, and that just kind of inspired me to be a better person and to always be prepared to help others, too,” Rolfsen said.
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Zimmerman-Frost met Sophie in elementary school, and while they attended different middle schools, they were reunited in high school, and their relationship grew through the ups and the downs, the serious moments and the silly ones.
“One of my favorite memories of Sophie is from my freshman year, when we were partners in chemistry class,” Zimmerman-Frost said. “It was the first day of school, and our teacher told us to be careful with the equipment, and then she accidentally broke a beaker five minutes later.”
“She was always really upbeat, so if you came into class and were not in a very good mood, she’d be able to cheer you up,” she added. “She was also able to be funny and kind of get off task, but you’d still find a way to get all your work done on time.”
Zimmerman-Frost plans to study biochemistry at Northern Michigan University, with one of her goals to help those battling diseases like leukemia and DIPG.
“I’ve always been interested in science, and I just have leaned towards the research part more than working with patients, and after my diagnosis and Sophie’s, I was like, ‘Oh, I want to be able to create therapies and stuff that will help diseases like that,’” she said.
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