THON Tales 2015: A multimedia blog | Saturday

Story posted February 21, 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.

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Hard Work and Dedication Pay Off
 

Terah Glose, a senior here at Penn State University has been continuously involved with with THON since her sophomore year. Glose's devotion and hard work have finally allowed her to become a dancer this year in THON 2015.

~ by Lennette Benzo

Remembering Alexia
 

Kris Canner, a senior broadcast journalism major, is very active in THON. In addition to being involved through the Singing Lions, Kris is a communications captain, specializing as a general and special interest liaison. Working as the family relations chair for the Singing Lions, Kris keeps in constant communication with his THON family, the Barnett's. 

Kris's love for THON grew once he joined the Singing Lions and was paired with the Barnett's. He believes their story has given him a powerful and more personal reason to want to dance for the cure.

Kris developed a special relationship with the family, despite never meeting Lexi, who passed away in 2011. His favorite moments on the floor were playing with Lexi's two younger brothers, Ethan and Brayden. 

~ by Rachael McCleary

 

Food For The Kids, For Everyone
 

Penn State senior Jacqueline McNenney is a Special Events committee member spending a total of 38 hours at THON 2015. McNenney is grateful for a committee that is just as motivated as she, especially while working multiple concession shifts.

~ by Mia Nuñez

Picture Perfect
 

Caity Kramer is a THON PR photographer with a passion for photography. She is a visual journalism major in the College of Communications.

~ by Victoria Glaude 

Cuts for a Buck
 

This THON season, Supercuts held its annual “Cut-A-Thon,” donating $1 from every haircut to Penn State’s dance marathon.

The fundraiser began on Monday, Feb. 16^th and lasted until Saturday, Feb. 21^st.  In the last week, shift supervisor Ashley Greenaway reports that they’ve serviced over 500 customers. The fundraiser will close on Saturday, and the Supercuts headquarters will be writing the check for THON Sunday morning. 

~ by Lauren Lewis

Missing her moraler
 

Penn State senior Maddy Sova is dancing in THON 2015, representing her sorority Omega Phi Alpha. She loves the support of her Dancer Relations Committee Member, but while he is on his off-shift, Sova has been wondering the floor in search of some entertainment. Surprisingly enough, the free bananas at the Snack Shack have done just that.

~ by Aria Moyer

Behind-the-scenes with OPPerations
 

Surrounded by people in blue shirts with their hands full of trash bags, OPPerations 'OPP' Captain Olivia Rothseid explains some of the work the OPP committees do on THON weekend, like keeping the floors clean and dry, or disposing of trash.

~ by Annemarie Butkiewicz

Foul weather fan
 

Even though he may be a new Penn State alum and the weather tried to keep him away, Eric Van Emburgh made a point to make it to THON for his fifth year in a row. It was a short stay but he made every moment in the Bryce Jordan Center count, standing alongside his Delta Upsilon fraternity brothers.

~ by Faith Collum

Loyal to a good cause
 

Marli Markovitz is a freshmen this year. She is involved in Rules and Regulations and Ohana at Penn State. Even though she was considering transfering from Penn State one thing kept her from leaving.

~ by Brittany Camilo

The #InstaTHON project
 

Penn State student Rebecca Longworth spends her time taking Instagram photos amid the hustle and bustle of THON weekend. Located behind the scenes, Longworth has been able to meet dozens of THON families and contribute to a project that posted pictures of people who answered teh question 'Why do you THON.'

~ by Matt Custodio

A THON of Firsts
 

This is Leanne's first time being involved with THON in more ways than one. She joined a Rules & Regulations committee and is absolutely loving it. Leanne is also a founding sister of the new sorority on campus Phi Sigma Sigma. Since the sorority is new to campus they are not paired with another frat yet, and do not have a THON family. However they didn't let that interfere with their canning efforts. The sorority and Leanne are looking forward to potentially gaining a family and more dancers next year, as well as being increasingly involved. 

~ by Julia Theaman

The backbone of the marathon
 

THON is not something that can be put together in one week. It takes months of planning, support, and advertising to make the weekend the biggest and the best event it can be. Hundreds of students help with different committees in the Public Relations department to spread the word about THON. Public relations captain Hunter Fraker explains what they do and how his department and the rest of the THON committees come together to make THON what it is.

~ by Tyler Gallagher

Sound Design
 

Will Baldwin is Monitor Engineer for BSI Productions, the company designing the sound for THON 2015. Baldwin helps keep wireless microphones running, and bands playing all through THON weekend.

~ by Megan Swiatkowski

Boredom: The Simplest Struggle
 

While dancers embarking on the task of not sitting or sleeping for 46 hours are surrounded by strong support systems, those in stands of the Bryce Jordan Center have to get creative when trying to stay entertained and engaged. Kerry Fitzpatrick, a senior in Zeta Tau Alpha, implores an array of activities in order to stay awake, energetic and enthusiastic.

~ by Zoe Shwidock

The gift that keeps on giving
 

Alex Vogul is part of the THON OPPerations committee. She helps maintain the cleanliness at the Bryce Jordan Center for the 46 hours of THON. Vogul volunteers because a family member of hers lost their battle to cancer.

~ by Samantha Lowe

Late arrival
 

Tabitha Pranke, a senior and marketing major at Penn State, finally has the opportunity to experience THON for the first time in here career at Penn State. After transferring from Penn State Harrisburg as a junior, Pranke never had the opportunity to witness the largest student run philanthropy ever. This weekend has been an emotional and exciting one for her.

~ by Lauren Ertl

The Bobbys: Back and better than ever
 

Amanda Bobby's son AJ is enjoying his first THON in five years cancer free. Throughout his illness the family told us the brothers of Theta Chi have helped boost their morale, taking AJ mattress surfing in their frat and letting him mercilessly squirt them with his water guns during his favorite day of the year- THON. Bobby explained to us how THON has been instrumental in keeping the family's spirits high and to the development of their three children the past few years.

~ by Shannon Ryan

Penning an encouraging word
 

Being a dancer at THON is a rewarding experience, but can be extremely tiring at times. Luis Ahumada, a member of the Special Events Committee, works at the Dancer Mail Station, which allows people to write to dancers who are down on the floor. The encouraging words from family and friends help dancers push through when their energy is running low.

~ by Brittany Misitano

Cub Grows Into Nittany Lion
 

Michael Palm seems like your average high senior. He recently accepted his offer to attend Penn State University this summer which was a dream he has had since he experienced his first THON 12 years ago. The Palm family heard about the Four Diamonds Fund when Michael was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at age 6. Once a student at Penn State, he is excited to finally give back to the kids who have to go through everything he once did.

~ by Gabrielle Yocum

Someone to Lean on
 

Despite not being part of any THON group or committee, freshman Ryan Moran is dedicating his nights this weekend to one purpose: cheering up people at THON. Armed with a neon green "Free Hugs" sign, Moran does laps around the outer ring of the Bryce Jordan Center for 13 hours straight each night. He says he wanted to do something fun that would help cheer people up, and that during the long stretches of the marathon's late nights he figured there would be a lot of weary people.

~ by Nikki Cheshire

More multimedia stories from THON

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