Monday, July 1, 2013

My Favorite Penn State Activity: THON

Before I even came to Penn State everyone was telling me about THON and I was really excited to get involved.  Even though I knew what it was, people say that to really understand it you need to experience it for yourself, and they’re right.  For those of you who don’t know, THON is a 46 hour no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon that is held in the Bryce Jordan Center.  The money raised is donated to the Four Diamonds Fund for the fight against pediatric cancer.

Even though the actual dance marathon is only one weekend in February, THON is a yearlong activity.  Once you get to campus, you start to hear about it more and more.  Throughout the year there will be THON merchandise sales, canning trips, and other fundraising events to raise money for the kids (FTK!).

Last year I ended up spending about 36 of the 46 hours at THON and I loved every second of it. From learning the line dance to seeing the final reveal of all the money raised, THON weekend was definitely one of my best weekends at Penn State.  I chose to get involved with THON through Penn State Club Gymnastics that I am a part of, so I went on canning trips with them and spent a majority of the weekend in our section at THON.  At the end of the weekend I was more tired than I had ever been before and I could barely feel my legs, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing about my experience!

I know that as engineers we’re all extremely busy and have a lot of schoolwork, but everyone needs a break at some point.  I really encourage you to use that as an opportunity to become involved in THON.  There are so many ways to get involved whether it be by joining a committee or participating in one of the many student clubs and organizations.

I hope this makes you want to become a part of THON because I’m so excited for THON 2014!  If you want to know more just go to http://thon.org FTK! (:

I can’t wait to meet everyone at WEPO in August!

Sarah Cooperman is a sophomore in Civil Engineering and Rover for WEPO'13!  To read more about Sarah visit her WEPO Profile:



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