In 2008, at just 13 years old, Conrad was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia and found himself at Oakland Children’s Hospital, now UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. “I didn’t know how to process it,” he says.   

He would continue receiving regular chemotherapy for the next four years. When Conrad learned he would receive a wish, his oncologist, Barbara Beach, M.D., encouraged him to think about what would be most meaningful to him.   

Fascinated by World War II, Conrad wished to travel to Europe with his family to visit some of its most famous battle sites. “I’ve always been a World War II history buff,” he says. “I just really like that era of history. You know, the good fight... the good guys against the bad guys.”   

Before long, Conrad and his parents, Lynne and Jim, were off to Europe. First stop: England.   

“Seeing the tanks at the British Tank Museum, sitting in the chair that Winston Churchill sat in when the Battle of Britain was going on and bombers were overhead, was very powerful,” Conrad remembers.   

They also visited the National Museum of the Royal Navy, located at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, where the British Royal Navy loaded up to storm the beaches of Normandy. “It’s the same ocean they saw right before they disembarked—what very well could have been their last day,” he says.   

Next, Conrad and his parents headed to Normandy, France, where they visited the D-Day battle sites of Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, and Pointe du Hoc. “I got to be in the bunkers,” Conrad says. “Pointe du Hoc is near the D-Day landings, where the Ranger Regiment had to climb up 30- to 50-foot cliffs on ladders while troops were shooting down at them. You can still see the shell craters.”  

They also toured Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches with guides Eddie Parks, a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Marines, and his wife Sharon, who worked for the UK’s Ministry of Defence. “We saw Sainte-Mère-Église, where the paratroopers landed,” Conrad says. “Eddie had modern military experience, but also all this knowledge of World War II. Hearing somebody who’s passionate about that explain it had such an effect on me.”  

After high school, inspired by the soldiers he so admired, Conrad joined the US Army in 2019 and was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. “I actually served as an infantryman in the 101st Airborne Division—the same division that landed behind the beaches in Normandy on D-Day,” he says. “And my battalion used to be part of the First Infantry Division, which landed on Omaha Beach. It was really special for me to go through three years as an infantryman and connect to everything I’d seen on my wish.”   

Today, Conrad serves in the US Army Reserve as an IT Specialist, ensuring that communications equipment and networks are fully operational.      

He still can’t believe that he got to live out his wish. Hoping to help other kids do the same, Conrad now serves as a wish ambassador and event volunteer for Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area. “I didn’t necessarily expect to be here as long as I have,” he says. “Now I’ve got to pay it forward.”  

Conrad has volunteered at the Bacigalupi Vineyard Designate Tasting event, held each July at Grand Cru Custom Crush in Windsor, which benefits Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area.   

By sharing his story, he helps raise awareness, engagement, and support for our chapter and our mission. “I feel indebted to Make-A-Wish for giving me probably the best experience of my life to date,” Conrad says.   

That experience continues to shape his perspective. “I absolutely believe in the mission, because I got to experience it firsthand,” he explains. “I’m still in awe that I was able to do that, and I’m incredibly grateful—to Make-A-Wish and to all the volunteers who helped make it possible. It’s affected my life so profoundly, and I really hope to inspire others to give back.”