A young Pennsylvania barber, shaped by St. Jude, will take the stage at the NFL Draft

The soft buzz of hair clippers and the hum of conversation soothed Elias from the moment he walked into his first barbershop as a sophomore in high school three years ago.

When Elias breathes in deeply, it’s as if he can still smell the clean, blue disinfecting liquid and pomade in the room of that very first haircut. 

“I just loved the environment, everything about it — the smells, the style,” Elias said. “I liked how, as a barber, you can transform someone and just make them happy.”

Now he’s an apprentice at a barbershop near his home in Pennsylvania, accruing hours toward his license. Building his future. 

Barbershops inspire people to share stories from their lives, and Elias can share with the best of them. He’s a sports guy who loves to talk about basketball or his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers.

He’ll recount how his brother trained him in basketball after cancer treatment because Elias dreamed of returning to the court. 

“My cousin owns a gym, and they would just pound me with athletic workouts for agility and speed,” Elias said and laughs. “I would tell them, ‘Oh my gosh, this feels worse than radiation.’”

He’ll share his medical story, too, if it can help someone. He’s had a brain tumor for seven years, but he’s doing better than OK, he said.  

“My dexterity and my arm is back to normal,” Elias said. “I can run again, I can shoot a basketball again.”

He credits St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. 

Now Elias has a new story to share. He will be announcing the no. 148 draft pick at the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh and will be amplifying the mission of St. Jude in front of this excited football audience.

If the barbershop is a place that can transform a person and make him walk a little taller, St. Jude has done this for him, too, in the most profound way, offering treatment but also hope.

“They treat you with care, with positivity, with love,” Elias said. “And honestly, I think that’s why I’m so hopeful nowadays.”

Uncertainty to hope

In January 2019, Elias was diagnosed at age 12 with a rare glioma and referred to St. Jude in Memphis, Tennessee. He was in the basement playing video games when his parents sat him down to tell him about the glioma.

“Am I going to die?” Elias asked his dad, George.

“My dad said, in a very nice, loving way, ‘Son, the last thing that I’d ever do to you is lie.’ And he didn’t say yes, but he was like, ‘We don’t know.’” 

But George told Elias that St. Jude was the Michael Jordan of hospitals – a legend in the space of childhood cancer.

Still, Elias felt scared.

That all evaporated once he got to St. Jude.

“There’s so much comfort and love at St. Jude,” Elias said. “They just treat you like family.”

A biopsy confirmed a diagnosis of grade III anaplastic astrocytoma.

Elias received seven weeks of radiotherapy at St. Jude. He then received nearly a year of chemotherapy from his local hospital on a tailored therapy plan from St. Jude. 

Being back home allowed him to return to school.

His treatment shrank the tumor significantly.  

He played varsity basketball all four years of high school. 

Transformed by hope

In 2025, he donned cap and gown and walked in his high school graduation with his friends. That’s also around the time his headaches became overwhelming.

That June, an MRI showed his tumor had progressed. He returned to St. Jude and was treated with radiotherapy.

He had to put his barbering career on hold for a couple of months last year, but now he’s back with a renewed dedication and gratitude for his St. Jude family.

“It’s become like another home, honestly,” Elias said. “I wouldn’t want to trade St. Jude for any other hospital.”

Every year for his birthday, Elias creates a St. Jude DIY fundraising page, asking people to give to St. Jude in his honor. To celebrate his 19th birthday, Elias had a goal to raise $1,500 for St. Jude. He blew right through it, raising more than $2,300.

Whether he’s stepping onto an NFL stage or standing behind a barber’s chair, Elias sees each moment as an opportunity to show what treatment has made possible and why the St. Jude mission matters to families like his.  

It’s a pretty great deal. Get a fresh haircut from Elias at the barbershop — and leave transformed with a renewed sense of hope.