Campus Life

Penn State Lehigh Valley Benefiting THON announces the 2019 dancers

Harshal Patel, Mary Williams and Aaron Wagner were announced as the 2019 dancers to represent Penn State Lehigh Valley Benefiting THON this year. Credit: Rosangelica Lantigua. All Rights Reserved.

The Penn State Lehigh Valley Benefiting THON organization revealed their dancers for Penn State’s THON. The annual 46-hour no-sleeping, no-sitting dance marathon will be held Feb. 15 to 17, at the Bryce Jordan Center at University Park.

THON is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world committed to enhancing the lives of children and families impacted by childhood cancer. Their mission is to conquer childhood cancer by providing outstanding emotional and financial support to the children, families, researchers, and staff of the Four Diamonds Foundation at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.

The students who were chosen to represent Penn State Lehigh Valley Benefiting THON this year are Mary Williams, Harshal Patel and Aaron Wagner.

Mary Williams is a sophomore at Penn State Lehigh Valley majoring in psychology.

Q: Why did you want to become a THON dancer?

Williams: “I want to be a THON dancer for three main reasons and the first reason is for my great aunt. She was diagnosed with bladder cancer, which led her to chemo and radiation which eventually developed into leukemia and she passed away earlier this year. To watch my mother and grandmother go through so much pain over losing her to something as morbid as cancer was really devastating to witness. The second reason is for my dear friend. Her mother died when she was a senior in high school, and at the time I was super close to her so to watch her suffer through losing her mom at such a young age was really heartbreaking and definitely gave me a better perspective on things. Lastly, I want to dance for all the amazing kids I've met over the years. I was a dance teacher at my studio for five years and still am one today at my local YMCA. This has given me the chance to meet so many healthy and great kids. I don't ever want to experience that helpless feeling I experienced with my great aunt or through watching my friend's loss and experience that with kids. I want to dance for all the kids who can’t and for all the pain and loss they go through so that one day, hopefully, we may truly dance in celebration.”

Q: How do you plan on preparing for the THON dance marathon?

Williams: “I plan on preparing for THON weekend by actively working out and building up my cardio and overall strength. Obviously, the physically part is only half of the battle so how I plan to prepare mentally is by fully diving into more stories about kids and their journeys through battling cancer and try to learn from their amazing strength so that I can use it as motivation on that dance floor.”

Q: What does it mean to you to be chosen to dance for THON?

Williams: “This has been something I was so anxious about for months on end and so to finally know and to be chosen is truly a dream come true. Penn State Lehigh Valley has truly given me so much support, love and guidance, and has truly become a home away from home and I couldn't be more grateful. I have met so many amazing friends and professors here who have taught me so many valuable lessons and I am thrilled to have their support for THON weekend. I love Penn State Lehigh Valley with everything in me and so I am nothing but humbled and honored to represent PSU-LV on that THON dance floor!”

Harshal Patel is a senior at Penn State Lehigh Valley majoring in information sciences and technology.

Q: Why did you want to become a THON dancer?

Patel: “I chose to dance for all of the children who were not able to win their battle against pediatric cancer, and also for those who are constantly suffering through the pains of cancer. I want to make sure that the kids who do attend THON weekend are smiling and enjoying their time because sometimes they do not get a chance like this again.”

Q: How do you plan on preparing for the THON dance marathon?

Patel: “To prepare for THON weekend, I have cut out caffeine from my daily routine. It is important to make sure that we don't consume caffeine because we don't want to have a caffeine crash during the weekend. I am also following a workout routine to make sure that I am physically fit to stand the 46 hours of THON weekend.”

Q: What does it mean to you to be chosen to dance for THON?

Patel: “Becoming a dancer to me means that I am able to have to chance to make a child's life better by making them smile and forget the pain that they are going through. All I wanted to do was to make sure that the kids who come to THON weekend are happy, and I feel like this is my perfect chance to make that happen.”

Aaron Wagner is a sophomore at Penn State Lehigh Valley majoring in secondary education social studies.

Q: Why did you want to become a THON dancer?

Wagner: “I wanted to become a THON dancer because the experience I had last year at THON was so amazing. I got to go on the dance floor to visit one of the dancers last year, and the feeling of being on the floor was a feeling you cannot explain to people who have never experienced THON. My sister was heavily involved in THON when she cheered at Penn State and when I experienced it with her while I was in high school, I knew I was going to go to Penn State. Other than the amazing athletics and education at Penn State, a main reason I chose to go here was to be in THON and to become a dancer, which I am going to do this year. The main reasons I wanted to become a THON dancer was for all the kids who suffer throughout their lives because of childhood cancer. Not only are the children affected, but their families are heavily affected by cancer as well. I want to dance for the kids who battle every day of their lives and keeping staying strong. Lastly, I wanted to dance for my grandmother who was recently diagnosed with stage 3 vulvar cancer this year. I noticed how drastically cancer can affect someone, and I just want to be able to stay strong and dance for them.”

Q: How do you plan on preparing for the THON dance marathon?

Wagner: “I plan on preparing for THON dance marathon by continuing to work out at the gym and by starting to eat healthier. Cutting out soda is going to be the hardest for me, but I am going to slowly cut down one day at a time. Also, continuing to drink more and more water so I am hydrated for the weekend is key to becoming prepared for THON.”

Q: What does it mean to you to be chosen to dance for THON?

Wagner: “It means the world to be to be chosen as a dancer for THON this year. I will be representing our THON child, Sean, and the Geltz family, as well as all the Lehigh Valley students in THON. I am truly honored to be a dancer at THON because I know all the work and dedication I put into the organization has truly paid off. All I wanted to do was make an impact for children affected by childhood cancer and I am so happy I can 100 percent do that on the dance floor at THON.”

 

Last Updated January 29, 2019

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