Bethel University football player who survived cancer makes it his mission to mentor others

In college football, success is measured in yards, touchdowns and rankings.

For Bethel University, the goal is another conference championship.

But for 19-year-old tight end Alec Santelman, the most important victory of his life happened before he put on a Bethel jersey.

"Cancer does not define you. It might be something you have or had, but that is not who you are," said Santelman.

Just after committing to Bethel, Santelman was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare bone cancer in one of his legs in January 2025.

"I just wanted to know what life would look like after. And then when we got down to two or three weeks later when I know exactly where it was and what it was in my treatment plan, my first question was, can I play football again?" explained Santelman.

With a grueling stretch of chemo, radiation, and surgery ahead of him, he got an answer early on from former NFL Super Bowl Champion and Ewing Sarcoma survivor Mark Herzlich.

"His advice to me was to move throughout treatment. And it's going to suck in the moment, but in the long run, it's going to be a lot better for me. And even in the short run, the next day, I felt so much better sweating it all out," said Santelman.

His teammates and classmates at Providence Academy stood by him every step of the way, as did the Bethel program.

"We talk a lot about guys having great juice and he's a guy with great juice. We're hoping to add that into the mix here as soon as he's kind of 100% clear and ready to go, said Mike McElroy, Bethel head football coach.

His recovery ignited something bigger — a mission to mentor others — as Herzlich did for him.

"He identified with that so quickly and realized how important that mentorship, that paying it forward, that giving back to the community was," said Dr. Chelsea Self, pediatric hematologist-oncologist at Children's Minnesota.

He began checking in on kids fighting the same battle, including an 8-year-old boy named Shepherd in Washington.

Their video calls blossomed into an unforgettable in-person visit.

"We got pizza and ice cream and then the next day we went to Seattle and we did the two new rides and the Space Needle," said Shepherd Willms.

"There was a ripple effect of Alec getting this great advice to stay active during treatment and then him living that out and taking it on and sharing that with Sheperd and our family. We really believe that made all the difference in how Shep was able to get through a really difficult treatment," said Ashley Willms, Shepherd's mother.

Santelman has since changed his major to physical therapy, determined to help other athletes return to the sports they love.

As he works his way back to game action at Bethel, he's already mastered an important piece of life's playbook.

"Everything about life has gotten brighter and happier and it's just because I know how much of a gift it is," said Santelman.