Most Penn State students can agree that the fall semester is
dedicated to football season and the spring semester is dedicated to THON. More
than 15,000 PSU students participate in the 46 hour dance marathon that raises
money for the Four Diamonds Fund to help the battle against pediatric cancer.
Students spend a large part of the school year raising money for the cause and
preparing for the highly anticipated THON weekend which occurred February 15-18
for THON 2013.
This
year I had the honor of dancing in THON 2013. Dancers are the people who spend
the entire 46 hours of THON on their feet without sitting or sleeping as a
symbol of standing up for and taking the pain away from the children suffering
from cancer so that they can have a weekend of fun and childhood. It is an
extremely challenging endeavor because it is very exhausting not sleeping for
so long and about halfway through the weekend, your legs and feet ache a
tremendous amount. Despite the exhaustion and pain however, being able to stand
for such an amazing cause is so rewarding and seeing all of the children makes
everything more than worth it. It is also made a lot easier by having friends
and family visit constantly and having a moraler there all of the time to help
take care of you is super helpful.
Although
a large part of THON is fundraising, another large part of it is being there
for the families who have been affected by pediatric cancer. The organization
that I danced for (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) found out a few
days before THON weekend started that we got a new THON family. It was
fantastic news because we now had a Four Diamonds Family that was going to
attend THON and meet us and wanted to stay in touch with us. My dance partner
(Jess Menold, also an Engineering Ambassador) got to meet our THON child,
David, and his family on Saturday and they are such strong, amazing people. We
got to spend time dancing and talking and it was so wonderful to get to know
them and have them there with us.
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THON 2013 total
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During
the final 4 hours, some families get to tell their stories and explain what
THON has meant for them. After everyone gets to sit down at 4pm on Sunday, the
THON total is revealed. This is positively one of the most exhilarating moments
you will ever experience if you helped fundraise for THON. It’s the moment you
find out just how much money PSU students were able to raise for the families
to cover costs of treatments and for research to help find a cure. When the
numbers are brought up and you see the number was higher than the year before,
you can’t help but scream, cry, and jump with joy, no matter how much your feet
hurt. This year was a record-breaking total of $12,374,034.46 which is a
remarkable amount of money and a perfect ending to my last THON as a Penn State
student.
Being a Captain for the World’s Largest Student Run Philanthropy has been one of the most
rewarding experiences of my life. I am currently the Lead THINK Developer for
THON 2013 and that allows me to use my coding experience and leaderships skills
to help fight for a cure for pediatric cancer.
After my first THON I knew I had to get
involved. I applied to be Technology Captain in the spring and held the position
throughout my sophomore year. I was then chosen again last spring as the Lead
THINK Develeper and have since been working to develop and maintain a website
called THINK (THON’s Information Network). 
