Alec Cabacungan is one of the most recognizable former patient ambassadors connected with Shriners Children’s.
Many people first saw him on television.
That was only the start.
Born with osteogenesis imperfecta, Alec spent much of his childhood receiving medical care while still going to school, playing adaptive sports, speaking publicly, and building an interest in sports journalism.
He later studied journalism at Northwestern University.
His work has also taken him into professional sports, Olympic and Paralympic media production, communications, and disability advocacy.
Basically, his public life changed a lot.
Here is his verified story.
Quick Facts About Alec Cabacungan
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Full public name | Alec Cabacungan |
| Full name in Northwestern records | Guillermo Alec Cabacungan IV |
| Date of birth | May 8, 2002 |
| Age in 2026 | 24 years old |
| Hometown | Oak Park, Illinois, USA |
| Parents | Alma and Gill Cabacungan |
| Siblings | Three older sisters |
| Medical condition | Osteogenesis imperfecta |
| Known for | Shriners Children’s television campaigns |
| College | Northwestern University |
| School | Medill School of Journalism |
| Degree | Bachelor of Science in Journalism |
| Degree completed | 2024 |
| Sports | Wheelchair basketball and wheelchair softball |
| Main career interest | Sports journalism and broadcasting |
| Advocacy work | Founder of The Alec Project |
Who Is Alec Cabacungan?
Alec Cabacungan is an American journalist, media personality, disability advocate, and longtime Shriners Children’s patient ambassador.
Most viewers know his face.
His television appearances for Shriners Children’s reached homes across the United States and helped explain the work done by the pediatric healthcare organization.
But Alec was a real patient.
He had received Shriners care since infancy.
As he became older, his public appearances grew beyond fundraising commercials. He started interviewing athletes, became involved with wheelchair sports, studied journalism, worked around professional basketball, and gained television production experience.
That career path feels natural once you know his background.
Sports always mattered to him.
So did communication.
Alec Cabacungan Was Born in 2002
Alec Cabacungan was born on May 8, 2002.
He grew up in Oak Park, Illinois, near Chicago.
His parents are Alma and Gill Cabacungan.
Alec is the youngest child in his family and has three older sisters.
His family learned before his birth that he had a condition called osteogenesis imperfecta.
Life would require extra medical care.
Still, Alec grew up attending school, spending time with his family, following sports, and finding ways to take part in activities he enjoyed.
That became a recurring theme.
He kept trying things.
Living With Osteogenesis Imperfecta
Alec was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, often shortened to OI.
The condition affects bone strength.
People with OI can experience fractures much more easily than people without the condition.
Alec began receiving care through Shriners Children’s Chicago when he was only a few months old.
His medical care included orthopedic treatment, surgery, rehabilitation, physical therapy, imaging, and regular clinical appointments.
His treatment continued for years.
Public reports have recorded different fracture totals at different points in his life, so using one fixed lifetime figure can be misleading.
What can be said clearly is this:
Alec experienced dozens of fractures.
He has also undergone more than 20 orthopedic surgeries according to his current advocacy organization.
That is a lot.
Yet medical treatment became only one part of his life.
His Long Connection With Shriners Children’s
Alec’s connection with Shriners Children’s started during infancy.
He received care through its Chicago hospital and later became one of the organization’s best-known patient spokespeople.
His first major television commercial came when he was around 12 years old.
Soon, viewers started recognizing him.
The commercials often featured Alec speaking directly to audiences about children receiving specialist medical treatment through Shriners.
His personality stood out.
He seemed comfortable on camera.
Actually, that experience may have helped prepare him for the media career he later pursued.
Alec also traveled for Shriners events and public appearances.
By his teenage years, being a patient ambassador had become a large part of his public life.
The Basketball Court Named After Him
Basketball holds a special place in Alec’s story.
Shriners Children’s Chicago named an onsite basketball court after him.
The location carried personal meaning.
Alec had spent years receiving treatment there, and the court became connected with both his physical progress and his later involvement in wheelchair basketball.
Sports gave him another outlet.
And he took it seriously.
Wheelchair Basketball Changed His Routine
Alec became involved in adaptive sports while growing up.
He played wheelchair basketball and wheelchair softball.
He later competed with the Chicago Skyhawks wheelchair basketball program.
By his teenage years, Alec was competing in national tournaments through the National Wheelchair Basketball Association system.
Being part of a team mattered.
It gave him a space where athletes faced many of the same accessibility issues he did.
The competition was real too.
Alec was not merely attending for recreation. He competed against other wheelchair basketball players and traveled for tournaments.
Sports soon became connected with another interest.
Media.
His Interest in Sports Journalism
Alec grew up watching professional sports.
Chicago teams were naturally part of that.
He followed the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Bears and watched sports broadcasters who made games feel bigger through commentary and storytelling.
One of the broadcasters he admired was Ernie Johnson.
That interest slowly became a career idea.
Alec wanted to work in sports media.
Rather than just talk about it, he started practicing.
Smart Alec on Sports
While still young, Alec created a sports-focused media project known as Smart Alec on Sports.
He interviewed athletes and sports personalities while building experience in front of the camera.
The setup was simple.
The goal was bigger.
He wanted real broadcasting experience.
His early reporting work eventually gave him access to professional sporting events and athletes.
That included NFL Draft activities.
Reporting Around the NFL Draft
Alec began interviewing football prospects while still a teenager.
By 2017, he was attending NFL Draft-related events through his connection with Shriners and conducting interviews with prospective professional players.
That gave him something most teenagers interested in journalism do not get.
Real access.
Real interviews.
Real pressure.
He had to ask questions, listen, react, and keep conversations moving.
Those are basic journalism skills, but learning them around elite athletes gave Alec unusual early experience.
Appearing on Inside the NBA
Another major media moment came through TNT’s Inside the NBA.
Alec appeared alongside members of its well-known studio team, including:
Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith.
For Alec, meeting Ernie Johnson was especially meaningful.
Johnson was already one of the sports broadcasters he admired.
So the moment connected his childhood interest with a real national television setting.
Pretty big for a teenager.
Education at Northwestern University
Alec later enrolled at Northwestern University.
He studied at the university’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.
Journalism made sense.
He had already spent years around cameras, interviews, public appearances, sports events, and media crews.
College gave him a chance to build formal reporting and production skills.
His university experience was not always easy.
A serious accident interrupted his studies.
The Wheelchair Accident During College
While attending Northwestern, Alec experienced a serious accident after his wheelchair overturned while moving across a snowy sidewalk.
The injuries affected his shoulder, knee, and hip.
He required surgery.
Recovery also meant stepping away from Northwestern temporarily so he could focus on physical therapy.
That could have changed his plans.
It did not.
Alec later returned to his studies.
Alec Cabacungan Graduated From Northwestern
Northwestern University’s official records confirm that Guillermo Alec Cabacungan IV earned a Bachelor of Science in Journalism.
His degree was awarded in 2024.
This is one of the clearest markers in his move from being known mainly as a Shriners spokesperson toward building a professional media career.
He was now a journalism graduate.
And he already had work experience waiting behind that degree.
Working With the Indiana Pacers
During college, Alec completed an internship with Pacers Sports & Entertainment, the organization connected with the Indiana Pacers.
The opportunity came through the Gregory S. Fehribach Center, which works with college students who have physical disabilities.
His role exposed him to several sides of professional sports business.
He worked around areas such as digital media, marketing, game operations, production, facilities, ticketing, and broadcasting.
This gave him a wider view.
Sports media is not only what happens on camera.
A large crew works behind it.
Alec got to see that process from inside an NBA organization.
NBC Olympics and Paralympics Experience
Alec’s media work later reached another major stage.
He gained production experience connected with NBC Sports coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics.
That was especially relevant to his interests.
Years earlier, he had spoken about wanting to cover the Paralympics.
Then he actually got professional experience around Olympic and Paralympic media production.
That is a clear career step.
It moved him closer to the type of sports journalism work he had talked about since his teens.
White House Communications Experience
Alec also gained professional experience through a White House communications internship.
His work involved communications operations, including broadcast and consumer media activities.
This should be viewed as professional communications experience rather than evidence of his personal political views.
For a journalism graduate, the role offered another chance to see how large media operations work.
Different setting.
Similar communication skills.
From Patient Spokesperson to Media Professional
People sometimes freeze public figures at the age when they first became famous.
That happens with Alec.
Many still remember him primarily as the smiling boy from Shriners commercials.
But he grew up.
His professional record now includes journalism education, sports organization experience, broadcasting work, major-event production, communications work, adaptive athletics, and disability advocacy.
The childhood commercials remain part of his story.
They are not the whole story.
The Alec Project
Alec later founded The Alec Project.
The organization focuses on issues affecting disabled people, particularly accessibility, mobility, and representation.
Its work includes raising awareness about accessible public spaces and helping people obtain properly fitted mobility equipment.
The project also speaks about disability representation in media.
That fits Alec’s background closely.
He has lived both sides of the camera.
He knows what disability representation looks like from personal experience.
He also understands the practical side of wheelchair accessibility.
Working on Accessibility
Through his advocacy work, Alec has spoken about making spaces easier for wheelchair users to access.
His organization has also worked around accessibility issues connected with colleges and universities.
This part of his career feels different from the childhood commercials.
Alec is now building projects himself.
He is no longer only representing another organization.
He is running his own advocacy work.
Sports Still Matter
Sports remain closely tied to Alec’s identity and career plans.
Wheelchair basketball gave him competition.
Sports television gave him career inspiration.
Journalism gave him professional training.
His later experience with the Pacers and NBC brought those interests together.
He has previously spoken about goals such as covering major professional sporting events and working in sports broadcasting.
Some of those goals have already moved from ideas into real work experience.
Why Alec Cabacungan Became So Recognizable
The answer is simple.
Television reach.
Shriners Children’s fundraising campaigns aired widely for years, and Alec appeared directly on screen speaking to viewers.
His commercials reached people who had never visited a Shriners hospital.
That made his face familiar.
But viewers also watched Alec grow older across different campaigns.
That created an unusual public connection.
People remembered him.
Today, those commercials still explain why so many people search his name.
What Is Alec Cabacungan Doing Now?
As of 2026, Alec Cabacungan is a Northwestern journalism graduate and the founder of The Alec Project.
His recent work has focused on disability advocacy, wheelchair accessibility, representation, and mobility support.
His professional experience also includes work connected with the Indiana Pacers, NBC’s Olympic and Paralympic coverage, and communications.
He remains closely associated with Shriners Children’s because of his long history as a patient and spokesperson.
But his career has grown well beyond that role.
Final Thought
Alec Cabacungan became famous very young.
He did not stop there.
Growing up with osteogenesis imperfecta meant medical treatment was a regular part of life, but school, sports, journalism, and work kept moving alongside it.
He played competitive wheelchair basketball.
He interviewed athletes.
He studied journalism at Northwestern.
He worked around NBA basketball and Olympic media.
Then he started his own disability advocacy project.
That is the real picture of Alec Cabacungan today.
The Shriners commercials made people recognize him.
His later work explains who he became.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Alec Cabacungan?
Alec Cabacungan was born on May 8, 2002. He is 24 years old as of September 2026.
What condition does Alec Cabacungan have?
He was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic condition that affects bone strength and can cause frequent fractures.
Why is Alec Cabacungan famous?
He became widely known through Shriners Children’s fundraising television commercials. He later became involved in journalism, sports media, adaptive sports, and disability advocacy.
Did Alec Cabacungan attend college?
Yes. He attended Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
Did Alec Cabacungan graduate from Northwestern?
Yes. Northwestern records show that he earned a Bachelor of Science in Journalism in 2024.
Does Alec Cabacungan play sports?
Yes. He has played wheelchair basketball and wheelchair softball. He competed in wheelchair basketball with the Chicago Skyhawks.
Did Alec Cabacungan work with the Indiana Pacers?
Yes. He completed an internship with Pacers Sports & Entertainment while building professional experience in sports media and business.
What is The Alec Project?
The Alec Project is an organization founded by Alec Cabacungan. Its work focuses on disability accessibility, representation, mobility equipment, and greater independence for wheelchair users.
