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Teen Battling Cancer Rings NASDAQ Bell, Dreams of Being Investment Banker

There are the plethora of Disneyland wishes. One boy wanted to be a Yosemite National Park ranger for a day. And of course, the world is familiar with Batkid.

But a 17-year-old who is battling cancer is dreaming of becoming an investment banker; and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Greater Bay Area in San Francisco paved the way for him to ring the NASDAQ bell in New York City on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday, he's making the rounds of the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

"I want to go to Wall Street," Terry "Tre" Grinner said in an interview last week from his home in Alamo, California, 30 miles from San Francisco. "I wanted a wish that will last forever. I didn't think it was going to be this big."

While in Manhattan, Terry, who goes by Tre, will be given a "mini internship" in Goldman Sachs, even attending a Yankees game with Goldman Sachs employees who are working on a deal with the team. He'll also visit investment bank, BlackRock, and spend half a day at CNBC. He's already met the CFO of Facebook. Tre will also be suited up in custom made suits by Ralph Lauren and shoes by Michael Toschi International— which were donated by the designers themselves.  

Tre was diagnosed in January with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and will finish his chemotherapy this month. Like other children with life-threatening illnesses, Tre was asked what he wished for while he was in the hospital. Knowing it's hard to make it on Wall Street, Tre asked for some early career help.

 "I just want to see him smile and be motivated after a really rough year after he's done with chemo," said said Tre's mother, Amy Perazzo, who referred to her son as the "Wall Street pup." "His wish is to be an investment banker.

tre
NBC Bay Area
Terry "Tre" Grinner, 17, of Alamo is battling Hodgkin's lymphoma and dreams of being an investment banker. July 2014.

Despite his illness, Tre graduated from high school in June, where his favorite classes were economics and history. His mom said he was especially jazzed about a virtual trading class.

But Tre also has another love - Italian sports cars - and the Make-a-Wish folks gave him a taste of that, too.

A team of volunteers from the Ferrari Owners Group drove to his home in a caravan of Ferraris, let him inspect each car under the car and gave him a ride in one.

As for Tre, his parting words before heading off to New York were that he knows he's strong and can get through his disease. When he realizes his dream of becoming a full-time investment banker, he said he'll donate 25 percent of his income back to Make-A-Wish.

Before that, though, he has just one more wish.

"I just don't want this to happen to anyone in my family," he said. "I'd rather it be me."

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