THON Tales 2015: A multimedia blog | Sunday

Story posted February 22, 2015 in Thon 2015 by College of Communications.

Each February the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, better known as THON, fills the Bryce Jordan Center at University Park with 15,000 people for 46 hours. Last year the event raised more than $13 million to benefit the families of children with cancer. These are some of their stories.

More multimedia stories from THON

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Hitting the Books
 

Mikhaila Fornah is a pre-med student at Penn State working to graduate and gain admission to medical school. For the past four years around this time, she finds herself on the fourth floor of the Pattee Library tucked away from madness of THON. Though she finds THON important, she believes that her efforts are better suited to studying and earning her medical license to help children in need rather than raising money for research. With every turn of a page she finds herself closer to her dream.  With an array of highlighters, a trusted black in pen and a fortress of medical books Mihkaila pushes onward through the night to hone her skills.

~ by Tre Walters

Make Sure You Do THON
 

Jason Marko studies chemistry and is a member of Thespians and a THON volunteer. He is a security leader on a Rules and Regulations committee. During THON weekend he helps committee members deal with any spectator problems and ensures the safety of THON volunteers.

~ by Rebecca Lindenberger

OPPeration Clean
 

Thomas Gill is a senior at Penn State majoring in psychology. Gill was part of the OPP committee. OPP is involved with the set up and tear down of THON as well as keeping the Bryce Jordan clean during the weekend. Thomas enjoys being a part of THON because he does it for his five nieces and nephews who he says he couldn’t imagine his life without.

~ by Samantha King

Capturing THON
 

Antonella Crescimbeni is a photographer for Penn State's independently run student newspaper, the Daily Collegian. For her shifts on the THON floor, Antonella got up front row seats to all the on-stage action.

~ by Luke Smith

Captain Alex
 

Alex Delucia is the captain of the Rules and Regulations committee nicknamed guaR&Rdians of the gALEXy. Alex is a junior at Penn State and is a first time captain for R&R. Alex is one of 24 captains and has her own committee of 37 volunteers.

~ by Michele Whalen

 

As a captain Alex is the committee relations liason, which organizes events within her captain committee. They organized their hundred days booth, captain mail and captain gear.

“We worked so hard this year and a ton of effort and knowing we did this together is going to be one of the greatest feelings THON weekend.” 

'How Can I Help You?'
 

Jake Somerville is a Communications Chair for THON. On Sunday he was one of the three people manning the information booth in Portal 1 by Gate A at the Bryce Jordan Center.

~ Paul Jones

Rallying through Rejection
 

Giuseppe Parente geared his entire senior year towards being chosen to represent the Penn State Thespians as one of their dancers in THON 2015. That dream was cut short when seniors Hailey Rohn and Jess Goble were chosen over him, but he finds comfort in the fact that two of his closest friends are representing their organization.

~ By Kelli Boyle

Dancer report: Taylor Milano / Sunday
 

Taylor Milano is dancing for Foto and filing video reports about her experience from the floor of the Bryce Jordan Center. As the band Go-Go Gadget takes the stage, she realizes she only has an hour to go.

~ By Taylor Milano

Branch campus transfer experiences her first THON
 

Junior Kaycee Corcoran is in the midst of her second semester at University Park. This weekend she had the chance to experience THON personally for the first time. Through her extracurricular club, the Student Philanthropy Council, she was able to access a pass that would allow her to enter the floor level of the event. However, after arriving at THON, she realized the experience was a bit too overwhelming for her and decided, after a short stay, to watch the rest of the event from home.

~ by Astrid Diaz

Final hours on the dance floor
 

Amanda Hendrix is a dancer for THON 2015. She has been involved with THON since her freshman year at Penn State after hearing about it through her softball team. She has known people who have died from cancer and says it was a no brainer for her to get involved with the organization when she got to Penn State.

~ by James Hirsch

First in, Last Out
 

Anna Dubiansky speaks about her years on the OPPerations committee, including all of the behind-the-scenes work, the dirt, and the early arrival (and late dismissal) of the OPPerations committee.

~ by Bob Boyle

LIVE
 

Daniel Bolton, a former employee at WPSU, has been a part of THON for years. Last year, shooting for a webcast, he came up with the idea to incorporate an experience that is more interactive than in previous years. Since August, Bolton has been preparing for this huge event – finding talent that will help him create the best product possible.

~ by Pharaoh Williams

Preparing for the overflow THON crowd
 

Mara Scaliti, a senior Labor, Employment and Relations major at Penn State is apart of THON 2015 as a member of an OPP committee. OPP committee members are in charge of the set up, tear down and cleaning of the Bryce Jordan Center and now Pegula Ice Arena during THON weekend. As a committee they have one of the most labor intensive jobs THON weekend.

~ by Tori Kimberly

Carl the Conqueror
 

Carl the Conqueror is a character created by a student wearing a mascot costume that was donated to THON. Carl represents the heroic qualities of children battling cancer. Scott Warner, a THON 2015 Hospitality Captain, had the opportunity this weekend to be inside the Carl costume.

~ by Kristina Slacum

Dancer Notes boost morale
 

Penn State senior, Janelle Rushton, is on the Special Events committee for THON 2015. This year, the committee started a new project called 'Dancer Notes'. It's another way for families and friends to write messages to the dancers to keep them motivated for the 46 hours.

~ by Megan Soltis

Capturing the pride
 

Caity Kramer is a junior at Penn State and a member of the THON Photography Committee. As a photography committee member, Kramer is allowed access to all moments of THON and captures them to share with the rest of the community.

~ by Maddie Klebe

Dancer report: Taylor Milano / overnight Saturday
 

Taylor Milano is dancing for Foto and filing video reports about her experience from the floor of the Bryce Jordan Center.

~ By Taylor Milano

More multimedia stories from THON

Friday
Saturday