Honored Alumna Allison Briggs Crockett shares how her humanities degree helped her navigate her daughter’s cancer diagnosis.
No college class can prepare a student for all the turmoil of life. But for Allison Briggs Crockett (Comparative Literature ’05), her humanities education helped provide her with the skills she needed to step into the unexpected when her four-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. As the College of Humanities 2026 Honored Alum, Crockett shared her experiences in a lecture on October 8, 2026, titled “Stepping Into Who You Are Next.”
A Metamorphosis
Crockett began her lecture by describing what’s called eclosion, a stage during a butterfly’s metamorphosis in which the butterfly emerges from its chrysalis and prepares to take flight. This process is quite uncomfortable for the butterfly. Likewise, Crockett said, “I have noticed that our Heavenly Father often puts us in uncomfortable positions. . . . because, like any parent, He is more interested in our growth and progression than in just about anything else, especially our comfort.”
For Crockett, metamorphosis began in 2022 when her daughter Cecilia, the fifth of Crockett’s six children, was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumor. Upon Cecilia’s diagnosis Crockett “started to lean more heavily on some of the skills” she learned from her humanities degree. Skills, she explained, such as reading closely, writing concisely, and articulating clearly supported her as she navigated her family’s next steps.
A Humanities Education
Crockett learned the skill of reading closely in her first comparative literature class at BYU. After receiving one of the worst grades of her life, she asked her professor Larry Peer how she could do better. He responded, “You’re not reading closely enough.” Along with his feedback came a few tips on how she could read more closely, like looking up words she didn’t know, writing notes as she read, and checking references. After Cecilia’s diagnosis, Crockett spent hours combing through medical reports and reading up on brain tumors. Her ability to read closely helped her to understand what was happening to Cecilia in order to get her the best care possible. Her background in Latin was also helpful in understanding medical jargon as she read.
Later, Crockett also began a blog to update others on Cecilia’s journey. She said that what started out as a simple way to share Cecilia’s story later allowed her to share her testimony “of the reality of the enabling power of Jesus Christ.” Her ability to write concisely gave her a platform to share the miracles the family witnessed throughout Cecilia’s treatment, and to explain some of the beliefs that brought peace to their family amidst the turmoil.
Leaning on her ability to articulate clearly also helped Crockett to speak with those involved in Cecilia’s journey and to “advocate for the care we felt was right,” she said. But most important, she explained, was the ability to express gratitude for those working at the hospital and for family and friends who offered support to their family.
A Call to Honor
Cecilia passed away at home with her family in 2023 after 15 months of battling cancer. After much prayer, Crockett and her husband Ben decided to donate Cecilia’s brain to research, an idea that came to Crockett while reading up on the literature. She had found extensive research on brain tumors in adults but not a lot about those in children. Their family’s decision to donate Cecilia’s brain will add to the existing literature on brain tumors in children. The family also later created a fund that supports the research of the lab at Riley Hospital for Children in Indiana, where Cecilia was treated. Crockett said, “The science coming out of the lab is fascinating,” and it is making discoveries that will help children like Cecilia in the future.
Crockett said that “the metamorphosis is still taking place” within her, but over time, her desire “to more fully honor Cecilia” has led her to “start to claw my way out of my chrysalis.” In her volunteer work with her family’s fund, she continues to call on the skills she learned in her humanities education. “This is why education is so important. . . . We become educated so that we can be prepared,” Crockett said. “Throughout our lives, we will have many different stages of growth, or metamorphosis.” In those stages, we must “spread our wings for what our Heavenly Father has next for us.”
Read the rest of Cecilia’s story in this People article.