Meet Ipek Ozil of JPMorgan Chase. 

Last year was your first D10. How did you become involved?
Ever since I witnessed the tragic death of someone close to me, I’ve wanted to do something for people who have had to battle cancer. The D10 was the perfect opportunity. There is something to be said about training and fundraising with a purpose. It simply adds meaning to your life and makes you want to excel in every aspect of it.

Have you always considered yourself an athlete? 
My "workouts" in college had consisted of walking from class to class and participating in the

required gym classes. During my PhD, I was a recreational runner at best. Naturally, the idea of a

“decathlon” and the events I had to do for The D10 terrified me. However, I realized how wrong my

fears were the moment I registered for event. I was instantly surrounded by a compassionate and strong group of women--my competitors, but also my biggest supporters. Training for the event meant regular 5 a.m. wake-up calls to the gym, occasionally saying no to drinks when out with friends...and despite months of preparation, I was pushed beyond my limits on the event day. Instead of bringing me down, the D10 turned out to be the most humbling and rewarding experience of my life. I realized that being a strong athletic woman and an accomplished executive are not mutually exclusive, and that it is possible to achieve anything with drive and determination. The group of women I was surrounded with inspired me beyond words.

The day after the D10, I came back to the office, driven to do more and to do better. This led me to want to participate in the Team D10--getting together with three of my colleagues and working collectively as a unified front seemed like a better approach. We formed our team very quickly. It was not hard to find people who wanted to help with this great cause. What initially started as a team building exercise turned into a large organizational mission, where all our colleagues and our whole firm came together. We talked to a lot of people about The D10 and raised awareness around its mission and pediatric cancer research. Thanks to the support of our colleagues, we ended up beating our initial fundraising goal and are still working towards more. We might even have inspired other people in our organization to be a part of The D10. With two months to go, there is still so much for us to do.