四名利哈伊谷学生代表校园参加破纪录的2024年马拉松

four young women and a young boy smiling at the camera

Penn State Lehigh Valley 2024 THON dancers, Sahiba, Maeve, Arica, 和塔拉在每年的46小时不睡觉期间与四钻石家庭共度时光, no-sitting, dance marathon at the Bryce Jordan Center. 

Credit: Mary Kate Maguire

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — The last of the confetti has been swept up. The lights in the Bryce Jordan Center (BJC) have dimmed. 这群精力充沛的舞者和欢呼的支持者已经离开了大楼. 十大网赌靠谱网址平台2024年马拉松可能已经结束,但它的影响才刚刚开始.  

在所有的钱都被统计出来之后,今年的马拉松筹集了创纪录的16,955,683美元.63 for Four Diamonds at Penn State Children’s Hospital. 这超过了《十大网赌靠谱网址平台》创下的1506132美元的纪录.45 by nearly $2 million. 

十大网赌靠谱网址平台在19个十大网赌靠谱网址平台联邦校区中排名第三, raising $69,563 this year and sending four dancers — Tara Fogle, Maeve Yanes, Sahiba Kathuria, and Arica Wieder — to represent the campus at the BJC. 

“Our students worked really hard to fundraise,” said Pam Fleck, PSU-LV assistant director of student affairs. “多亏了校友们的慷慨解囊,我们才能够如此接近顶尖, especially Lost Tavern’s Hops 4 Hope event which raised $30,000 for THON this year, bringing the brewery’s total contribution to over $100,000 since the creation of their event; the 2024 Dance for a Cure, 在我们的校友群体中一直很受欢迎,收入约19美元,000; and PSU-LV donor, 前顾问委员会主席和现任执行委员会成员, Mr. Howard Kulp, 谁慷慨地为我们的校园图书募捐活动筹集了资金,今年是5美元,000.” 

这四名学生从下午6点开始,不眠不休地跳舞站了46个小时.m. Feb. 16 to 4 p.m. Feb. 18 -在BJC,所有这些都是以支持儿童癌症患者和家庭的名义. 

Sahiba Kathuria, a second-year finance major from India, 是第一个来自PSU-LV的国际学生舞者吗. The THON experience is not easy to put into words, she said.

她说:“这很神奇,很壮观,也很艰难,很艰难。. “Sometimes I was on cloud nine; sometimes I felt like giving up. We had kids on the floor with us, 我想为那些纯洁的灵魂尽我所能. 孩子们应该对他们想要什么糖果或明天是否应该去上学感到困惑,而不是想知道他们是否能战胜癌症. 如果跳舞46个小时能让他们当中哪怕有一个人微笑,我愿意马上再跳一次.” 

For Fogle, a second-year veterinary medicine major, THON的任务离我们很近,她想参与其中, she said.

“我(成为一名学生舞者)的主要原因是帮助别人,因为这笔钱会用于一个非常好的事业. The second reason is because when I was younger, my mom passed away from cancer, and it hit me really hard," said Fogle. “我不希望其他家庭在经历了这么多之后还得担心经济困难之类的事情.” 

连续46个小时跳舞和站立需要大量的体力和精神耐力. PSU-LV的舞蹈学生们提前为比赛做了充分的准备,就像马拉松训练一样.

“Nothing can really prepare you for being on the floor, but I tried to do a lot of cardio, and gave up wearing heels about a month ago, which was hard because I love wearing them. 在这46小时里穿舒适的鞋子是非常重要的。. “It did get unbearable at one point though. For a long while I had a knee brace on. 我的脚和膝盖也被绑了起来,因为它们太疼了.”

她还尝试了一个月不喝含咖啡因的饮料, as dancers are not permitted coffee, energy drinks, or other stimulants for the duration of THON.

“(我们)得到了水、佳得乐、零食和饭菜,”她说. “我们必须在精神上和身体上做好准备,有时这确实让我们感到压力. When I was out on the floor, 有时我又困又累——这确实让我付出了代价. 但当你看到人们为你欢呼时,它会帮助你继续前进. Moreover, 我的drcm(舞者关系委员会成员)朱莉安娜和迈克的支持也让我坚持了下来. Luckily for me, the time zone back in India also helped a lot. 印度大约比我早10个半小时,所以在我准备降落的时候, I had my parents giving me a good time.” 

福格尔说,如果没有她的两位drcm的持续支持,她“不认为自己能坚持下去”, Emma Pedone and Elizabeth Rader. 福格尔说,下次她想成为一名DCRM,帮助别人度过这个艰苦的周末.  

弗莱克在20世纪80年代末还是十大网赌靠谱网址平台的学生时,就曾是THON委员会的成员。她说,第一次作为工作人员参加THON时,她“对学生们能够组织这样一个多方面的活动感到敬畏”. 她称这是一次“改变人生的经历,当你看到所有学生的活力和毅力。. It’s an experience you would get at no other school. There’s such energy, passion, and dedication for the cause — to me, 这是一个无私的活动,因为它几乎全年都在进行. 对于那些投入其中的人来说,这是学生经历中非常有意义的一部分. 通过THON,十大网赌靠谱网址平台允许了其他学校没有提供的东西.”  

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