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Note: This story appeared in the Fall 2020 November edition of CoSIDA 360 Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.
Never Give Up
Childhood cancer survivor Aaron Gaberman is living his hopes and dreams as the Athletic Communication Coordinator at Sacred Heart.
by Allison Hogue – CoSIDA Free Agent @allioop3p
I first met Aaron Gaberman at the 2020 NCAA Emerging Leaders Seminar (ELS) this past February. The first conversation we had was while sitting in the lobby at a hotel across from the NCAA national office in Indianapolis — and we quickly bonded over the next three days of the event as I learned about his journey with childhood cancer and how it brought him to sports information and, to a relationship with the late New York Yankees great Bobby Murcer.
We kept in touch following our time at ELS, and have seen each other on numerous CoSIDA-related Zoom calls over the last few months, which prompted me to tell his story.
Gaberman grew up in suburban Weston, Connecticut, and, beginning at four years old, was active playing his two favorite sports — baseball and golf. A pitcher and first baseman, he played on two youth baseball All-Star teams and his Cal Ripken baseball team won the league championship.
In 2004, while almost 10 years old, Gaberman noticed something was wrong while attending baseball camp in Florida. He felt some fatigue and was experiencing headaches. The symptoms got worse later, and he started vomiting. His family noticed a weight loss (his weight dropped to 55 pounds) and Gaberman was later admitted to the doctor for an MRI test. It was on May 25, 2005, when doctors delivered the haarrowing news that Aaron was diagnosed with two aggressive, malignant brain tumors (non-germanomanous brain cancer) that devastated him physically.
“It was a little hard to comprehend,” Gaberman said, “as I never knew a kid my age would get cancer or anything like that.”
Aaron Gaberman with the 2018 National Champion Villanova men’s basketball team.
Despite the news, the doctors were confident. A month after being diagnosed, he was just the third child in the country selected to participate in a clinical trial treatment plan at the New York University Medical Center.
Gaberman’s treatment consisted of chemotherapy and radiation. Two months later, he started showing signs of improvement following his second round of chemo. Doctors noticed that the tumors were shrinking — a great sign that Aaron was on his way to a full recovery to beat this cancer.
“They had full confidence that I would be successful and it’s shocking that I was the third kid in the country to have this treatment,” he said, “It was great being able to be a part of something like that at such a young age.”
Gaberman completed the trial with six weeks of chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
Despite beating cancer, the biggest challenges Gaberman then dealt with were the circumstances regarding his future in athletics. When he returned to competitive action, Aaron noticed a change in his ability to play. Because of the treatment, he started to feel fatigued quickly, and couldn’t pick up his play at the level of other kids.
“When I got diagnosed with cancer, to begin with, it was kind of that point of okay, well I know I can’t be that professional baseball player and I’m not going to be the golfer that I really wanted to be,” Gaberman said.
In an earlier interview with YourMission.org, Gaberman noted, “Since the age of ten years old, my body had been severely ravaged due to a series of surgeries and treatments for a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer. As a lifelong athlete, I spent countless hours with various trainers to help rebuild and strengthen my body, but the results were uneventful. It became a very frustrating process for me until the fall of my senior year in high school when I discovered a special training center which challenged me through lots of strength training, a special nutrition program, and hard work.”
As a high school junior, Gaberman attended a pre-college three-week program at Marist College in Pougkeepsie, New York, sponsored by the Marist School of Sports Communications. Gaberman had the opportunity to learn about the behind-the-scenes experience in broadcasting and sport communications and met professors and sports industry professionals. Something clicked, and he knew right away this was the career path he wanted to pursue.
After graduating high school in 2013, Gaberman returned to Marist to further his education. While attending classes, he accepted an internship with the school’s sports information department in the fall of 2015. During his two years working for Marist, Gaberman assisted the SIDs in writing for the school website, preparing game day programs and previews, and formulating and delivering game stats. He took on summer athletics communications internships in his home state of Connecticut at Sacred Heart in 2014 and Yale in 2016.
After earning his degree in sports communications from Marist in 2017, Gaberman secured an athletic communications assistantship at Villanova, working as the primary contact for softball, men’s golf, water polo, and the school’s Varsity Club Hall of Fame. In addition, Aaron assisted in support for basketball (yes, that men’s basketball team which won the NCAA title in 2018!) and football.
“It was a crazy couple weeks having to send out media guides, deal with a multitude of interview requests, and sending out game notes every week,” Gaberman recalled, reflecting on the Villanova men’s basketball team’s championship moments. “We spent over $10,000 worth of shipping costs just to get our media guide materials to each region of the country for the bracket.”
Following his time at Villanova, Gaberman received an offer to return to Sacred Heart as a graduate assistant and earned his master of arts in athletic communications/management.
This past September, he was promoted to his first full-time position as Athletic Communication Coordinator.
Aaron Gaberman was diagnosed with two brain tumors at age 10.
When Gaberman arrives at the office on a typical workday, he always looks forward to working with the student-athletes and promoting their stories. Since entering the profession, he’s grown to become a better communicator and leader.
“I never knew growing up this is the profession I’d be in today,” Gaberman said, “I’ve truly found a passion and career doing work I truly love.”
When Gaberman is not working in the profession, he’s an activist for battling childhood cancer with Berni & Murcer – Friends for Life, the non-profit organization he and his family started in 2005 that helps bring comfort to kids with pediatric cancer. The inspiration came from Gaberman’s friendship with former New York Yankees legend Bobby Murcer, who was also a two-year brain cancer survivor before passing away from complications of the cancer in July 2008.
“I knew Bobby was diagnosed with cancer after his career and I reached out and wrote a letter to him, telling him of my experiences and how much I love baseball, and he responded,” said Gaberman. “I was fortunate to get to know him and felt we were ‘friends for life’. He was an inspiration for naming our foundation. The Berni part of our name was inspired by Bernese Mountain dogs, known for their loyalty, gentleness, great courage and their love of children.”
“We create events to raise funds for pediatric cancer and build comfort backpacks for children battling diseases,” he explained, “We include a plush toy in the backpack we give out at hospitals.”
In addition to the backpack, kids also receive a book series called The Adventures of Berni & Murcer, a collection of books written by Gaberman’s mom, and Berni & Murcer founder, Terri. The story is based on a dog and child with cancer that go on many adventures.
Among the numerous Berni & Murcer fundraising events is Celebrity Scoops, an ice cream social event where Sacred Heart student-athletes and coaches scoop ice cream. This year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Berni & Murcer are continuing to hold these events virtually.
No matter the obstacles that come his way, Gaberman continues to persevere through adversity.
“Regardless of whatever I was going through, cancer-wise, post-cancer wise, whatever it was, I always continue to strive through the (SID) work I love to do.”
An all-star youth baseball player before his diagnosis, Gaberman developed a friendship with New York Yankees legend Bobby Murcer, who fought brain cancer before succumbing to complications of the cancer.
This year has brought a lot of challenges for Gaberman during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite no sports going on and the stress of isolation and mental health, he continues to view this experience as a blessing. It also brought Gaberman to view his sports information career from a new perspective.
“Because of this, I’ve had the opportunity to grow professionally and take an administrative role which is something I never expected to be a part of until later down the road,” he said, “Now, I’ve had to take charge at an early time in my career, which has been absolutely great and will is propel me going forward.”
Gaberman’s personal motto? “Never give up on your hopes and dreams regardless of what challenges come in your way.”
Aaron Gaberman's successful treatment spurred the Gaberman family to organize the non-profit Berni & Murcer – Friends for Life.
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