Harvard student fights for others while fighting lethal disease
Elsie Tellier’s Harvard experience, starting with her decision to apply, is inextricably tied to her diagnosis. She was 12 when she learned that she had cystic fibrosis, a progressive and lethal lung disease that claims most patients before age 40. As she and her family grappled with the news, Tellier made plans for living her life to the fullest. “My hope is to be productive and do good things with the time I have left,” said the Leverett House senior, who is studying sociology and classics. “I have a life plan to do what I can to help others.” Born in the Canadian province of Winnipeg, Tellier was an infant when her mother died. An aunt who helped raised her — a Mexican physician who served poor communities in her home country — was “a driving force” in the future Harvard student’s youth, sparking a passion for humanitarian work that last summer led...