In the United States, the month of October is recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This is a cause that is especially close to The Swan Princess as the original voice of Princess Odette, Michelle Nicastro, died of breast cancer.
This month our featured fan is Samantha Oester who has been battling breast cancer off and on for 8 years. She is currently in partial remission for her latest round with breast cancer.
You can find more information as well as charitable Breast Cancer organizations to support here.
Samantha is originally from West Virginia. She studied at East Carolina University and University of North Carolina – Greensboro for her bachelors degrees and George Mason University for graduate school.
Pre-cancer (in the before times), Samantha was an amateur flying trapeze artist.
Now, Samantha is a conservation biologist, and she absolutely loves it! Science was one of her first loves, and she is so happy that she gets to work in a STEM field. Her favorite part is doing field research.
Samantha's favorite place She has ever worked is Antarctica. She was there with a Google Earth backpack, so she can be found on Google Street View of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Samantha loves making cosplays and cosplaying, reading, hiking, yoga, traveling, volunteering, and tap dancing in her free time.
The Swan Princess film came out when Samantha was in middle school, and she loved it instantly. Her sister (who is much younger than Samantha) also loved it and played it over and over while Samantha was in high school.
Samantha relates most to the character of Odette. She loves when Odette asks Derek, “What else?” and then walks away when he can’t answer her. Odette values herself, does not want a superficial relationship, and appreciates more than physical beauty. Samantha remembers watching that for the first time when she was in middle school and just loving it.
Samantha is an avid reader and likes mostly fantasy and sci-fi, but she loves a wide variety of genres.
Samantha names her pets after actors she loves. Her dog, Harrison Ford, just passed away in March at the age of 14.
He was her cosplay partner and her best friend. Dealing with his loss during breast cancer was extremely tough for Samantha. He took care of her.
Samantha's new dog is about four years old and a huge goofball. His name is Chadwick Boseman (Bose for short). She has two cats – Audrey Hepburn and Kit Harrington.
You can follow Samantha on Instagram here
We are proud to have such a strong and brave fan like Samantha in our Swan Princess family! We are cheering you on in your Breast Cancer battle and are amazed at your life accomplishments! Thank you Samantha!
Are you a Swan Princess fan? Would you like to be a Featured Fan? Let us know why we should chose you...email Odette@SwanPrincessSeries.com
