Jon Ansell sits in the center of Monarch High School's gym in front of hundreds of people, and he's about to give up the thick, curly hair he's been growing for eight years.
As the barber drapes him with a cutting cape, Ansell is nothing but smiles, most likely because of the reason he's about top lose his locks.
Ansell shaved his head Friday to help raise money for cancer research, a cause that has touched his life not once but twice.
"My grandpa passed away from cancer," Ansell said. "One of my best friends was diagnosed with leukemia at a really young age, so I've grown up with it."
"But he's still here doing great!" Jon's mom, Jodi Ansell, added with a smile.
The 18-year-old Monarch senior had some time to adjust to the idea of having short hair, which until Friday morning reached just past his shoulders -- both downwards and outwards. According to Jodi Ansell, Monarch social studies teacher Keith Mainland came to Jon Ansell a year ago and asked, "Would you shave your head to raise money for cancer?"
"Sure," he said, "I'll do it."
"I always planned on trying to donate my hair or something like it," Jon Ansell explained. "Mr. Mainland approached me and had the idea to shave it for St. Baldrick's Day. I decided that if I'm shaving it, I might as well try to raise money for cancer research."
Because the haircut didn't fall on the actual St. Baldrick's Day, a nationwide annual event to raise money for a cure for childhood cancer, Jon Ansell pledged to shave his head at a school assembly if he raised $1,000 for American Cancer Society. He ended up with a $1,500 haircut, with more donations coming in from staff and students as the locks fell to the floor.
"I can finally feel the air on my head, which is strange," Jon Ansell said after the cut. It took over 10 minutes to "Mow the 'Fro," as the event was dubbed by the school.
Students gasped and cheered as his familiar Afro turned into a buzzcut. Jon kept his smile the whole time, but Jodi Ansell admitted she teared up as his hair came off.
"Just hearing the audience, I was more wondering what he was thinking when he can't see what's on his head," she said.
Most of the people at Monarch High had likely not seen Jon Ansell with hair so short before Friday. His friend let out a noise of excitement as she walked by in the hallway and ruffled his new cut. He wants to donate the shorn eight-year growth to Locks of Love, which he's been trying to do since he was 10.
"Initially, when he started growing it when he was 10, it was because one of his friends was growing out for Locks of Love, " Jodi Ansell said. "He thought, 'Oh, maybe I'll do that too.' But then it grew out and it was gorgeous." Jon also noted that, "skater hair was big" at the time, both his literal hair and the style itself, so he didn't cut it right away.
Despite the length of time that Jon Ansell grew out his hair, Mainland isn't sure if Locks of Love will take it, because it might not meet the organization's length standards.
"You're kidding!" Jodi Ansell said when Mainland told her.
"Because it's frizzy and out rather than long and straight, [I don't know] whether they can use it," Mainland said.
"See if they can treat it with curl relaxer," Larry Ansell, Jon's father, joked.
Jon Ansell isn't worried about the logistics of donating his hair.
"I think I'll just send it in to Locks of Love, and if they need it, they can take it," he said.
Raising money for cancer research is another activity that Jon Ansell can add to his list of accomplishments, which includes National Honors Society, Key Club, soccer, choir and theater.
"I'm really proud of him," Jodi Ansell said. "I'm in shock" about his hair.
Larry Ansell acknowledged the positive effect this event has had on his son.
"You changed the course of his life," Larry said to Mainland, after the cut.
Jon Ansell will attend the University of Colorado in the fall. Whether the 'fro will be back, or his hair will stay short, the well-rounded teenager should adjust easily to his new haircut and his next chapter.
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