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My Thon experience this weekend

Dr. Evel

Dr. Evel

Well-Known Member
May 29, 2001
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I hope you all don't mind a bit of personal rambling...

My daughter is a senior. She has been extremely active in Thon all four years, but this is the first year she danced.

I've watched the live stream several years, but this is the first time that my wife and I attended.

Thoughts from the weekend, done Larry King stream-of-consciousness style:

  1. Even in the wee hours Sunday morning, I was amazed at how nice everyone was to each other and to us. The people in my daughters organization couldn't have been nicer to us, but this was true of everyone we encountered. All volunteers were awesome.
  2. Those bungee jump road girls are wildly entertaining. Really cool.
  3. I loved the bands that they got. My Hero Zero (who my daughter wants to have play at her wedding), Go Go Gadget, and The Rockets were great. The Rockets played really early on Sunday, and brought a lot of energy to the BJC. Go see these groups when you can, and thank them for playing Thon.
  4. I had never met my daughter's Thon family before. Really glad I did. Lots of tears shed -- even now as I write this.
  5. Only negative is that the floor pass system is a mess. Lots of people bemoaning this. The group is doing the best they can, but it is definitely something they need to work on for future years.
  6. The times when I lament the direction our planet is heading are totally offset when I see what I saw this weekend. What compassion and dedication.
  7. Ignite. Electrify.
  8. Seeing the entire BJC doing the line dance with the dancer relations group on stage and just soaking in that view of the arena in motion as one is just way cool.
  9. My daughter's group won the live trivia contest. I don't think I've ever laughed that hard. What a great group of kids.
  10. I think PSU is a better place than when I was there. I mean, I think we did a lot of fun stuff and got good jobs, etc., but the drive to make Thon a success just overwhelms me. We did nothing like that. Their compassion and sacrifice is really inspiring.
  11. The student volunteers were just the best. Cheerful, helpful, all while being pretty darned tired themselves.
  12. This event, to me, sums up what PSU is. Thon is the best of what we do.
  13. Awesome fundraising and awareness raising.
  14. Thank you, fellow posters, for your support of Thon. Every $ matters.
 
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Dr. Evel said:
  1. I think PSU is a better place than when I was there. I mean, I think we did a lot of fun stuff and got good jobs, etc., but the drive to make Thon a success just overwhelms me. We did nothing like that. Their compassion and sacrifice is really inspiring.
Click to expand...
Now you did it...
 
My donation is large each year as is my pride to be a Penn Stater. Tell your daughter - THANKS - from this alum.
 
jake_and_zach said:
You're even flaming this post???.... I think most rational people understood what he said. In a lot of respects PSU is better today than it was years ago. This viewpoint can be totally separate from the viewpoint you are hinting at.
Click to expand...

He is a troll who tries to ruin every rational discussion on this message board. Put him on your Ignore List and forget about him. Don't allow him to achieve his goal of derailing this thread.
 
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Dr. Evel said:
I hope you all don't mind a bit of personal rambling...

My daughter is a senior. She has been extremely active in Thon all four years, but this is the first year she danced.

I've watched the live stream several years, but this is the first time that my wife and I attended.

Thoughts from the weekend, done Larry King stream-of-consciousness style:

  1. Even in the wee hours Sunday morning, I was amazed at how nice everyone was to each other and to us. The people in my daughters organization couldn't have been nicer to us, but this was true of everyone we encountered. All volunteers were awesome.
  2. Those bungee jump road girls are wildly entertaining. Really cool.
  3. I loved the bands that they got. My Hero Zero (who my daughter wants to have play at her wedding), Go Go Gadget, and The Rockets were great. The Rockets played really early on Sunday, and brought a lot of energy to the BJC. Go see these groups when you can, and thank them for playing Thon.
  4. I had never met my daughter's Thon family before. Really glad I did. Lots of tears shed -- even now as I write this.
  5. Only negative is that the floor pass system is a mess. Lots of people bemoaning this. The group is doing the best they can, but it is definitely something they need to work on for future years.
  6. The times when I lament the direction our planet is heading are totally offset when I see what I saw this weekend. What compassion and dedication.
  7. Ignite. Electrify.
  8. Seeing the entire BJC doing the line dance with the dancer relations group on stage and just soaking in that view of the arena in motion as one is just way cool.
  9. My daughter's group won the live trivia contest. I don't think I've ever laughed that hard. What a great group of kids.
  10. I think PSU is a better place than when I was there. I mean, I think we did a lot of fun stuff and got good jobs, etc., but the drive to make Thon a success just overwhelms me. We did nothing like that. Their compassion and sacrifice is really inspiring.
  11. The student volunteers were just the best. Cheerful, helpful, all while being pretty darned tired themselves.
  12. This event, to me, sums up what PSU is. Thon is the best of what we do.
  13. Awesome fundraising and awareness raising.
  14. Thank you, fellow posters, for your support of Thon. Every $ matters.
Click to expand...

First, congratulations and a big thank-you to your daughter. Second, all excellent points. Well said.

FTK
 
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jake_and_zach said:
You're even flaming this post???.... I think most rational people understood what he said. In a lot of respects PSU is better today than it was years ago. This viewpoint can be totally separate from the viewpoint you are hinting at.
Click to expand...
Calm down and learn how to take a joke.
 
jake_and_zach said:
You're even flaming this post???.... I think most rational people understood what he said. In a lot of respects PSU is better today than it was years ago. This viewpoint can be totally separate from the viewpoint you are hinting at.
Click to expand...
Obviously someone I already have on ignore since I don't see the post you're talking about.
 
thanks for the thread and thanks for the twitter photos/clips above. Heartwarming on a lousy day.
 
BobPSU92 said:
Great stuff! Makes me Penn State Proud!
Click to expand...

Indeed. Nice to see that level of involvement and joy.

I've always been Penn State proud, even before I attended. I've never been prouder than I am now. I'm welled up with pride. Just a spectacular event in so many ways. What I wrote earlier just scratches the surface.

It is staggering to think of all of the time spent in advance of the actual event by thousands of students.

One thing that probably doesn't get publicized as much as it should is the interaction between the students and their Thon families. Just as an example, my daughter's group would go to watch their Thon kid in the school play two hours away and take the family out for pizza afterwards. All of the groups do things like that. The money raised is awesome, but there are gestures like that that mean just as much to the families. Having a support network when you are going through tough times is invaluable. There are some life-long bonds forged.

I'll stop now. Sorry to be so sappy.
 
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Dr. Evel said:
Indeed. Nice to see that level of involvement and joy.

I've always been Penn State proud, even before I attended. I've never been prouder than I am now. I'm welled up with pride. Just a spectacular event in so many ways. What I wrote earlier just scratches the surface.

It is staggering to think of all of the time spent in advance of the actual event by thousands of students.

One thing that probably doesn't get publicized as much as it should is the interaction between the students and their Thon families. Just as an example, my daughter's group would go to watch their Thon kid in the school play two hours away and take the family out for pizza afterwards. All of the groups do things like that. The money raised is awesome, but there are gestures like that that mean just as much to the families. Having a support network when you are going through tough times is invaluable. There are some life-long bonds forged.

I'll stop now. Sorry to be so sappy.
Click to expand...

More great stuff. Thanks so much for sharing these stories. We get to see videos of students with their THON families, but there are a lot of selfless acts we don't hear about.

I can imagine how proud you must be of your daughter.
 
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16825864_10154538796648198_5377202998962415665_o.jpg


"It's weekends like Penn State THON that make you proud to be at Penn State"

- Trace McSorley
 
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When my children are enough to understand, I will be taking them to THON. What a great human experience on a number of levels. Congrats to your daughter. Many years from now, as her own time grows short, I'm sure that this experience will be the one she is most proud of from this period of her life.
 
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Five years ago my son, who will graduate from med school in a couple of months, went to Africa on a medical mission. He spent a couple of weeks there. There is an old saying, "You don't change Africa, Africa changes you."

A little more than a month after getting back he danced in Thon. I think you can say a similar thing about Thon, it changes you. I saw my first Thon as a high school student when it was held in the HUB ballroom. As a PSU student I ran the athletic training support for Thon one year. Many years later, my son was a moraler one year a dancer the next and then a family relations captain. I saw the changes it had in him. I think he will be a better doctor having been part of Thon.

Its funny, you can explain Thon to people, but until they experience, they just don't get it. When they do, it has an impact.
 
I'll piggy back a bit on Dr Evel's experience and forgive me for the long post.

While at PSU, I was a moraler one year and a communications captain the following year, so my THON experience came from those angles. Since graduation, I have attended many THONs as a alum. For the past three years I have been dating a former Four Diamonds child (now 33 and with 3 kids) and we (including my 2 kids as well) are very active with THON throughout the year. From THON hoops, hockey, sluggers, etc to THON weekend events like the Wish program (Lasch last year, Beaver Stadium tour this past weekend), Captain-in-training, etc., we have experienced from every angle. The brothers and sisters of SAE and Pi Phi (our org) have become part of our family. We have hosted them multiple times at our home for canning trips, canvassing, or just a couple of days to spend with us and bond with our kids. I couldn't be prouder of what they and the thousands of other kids do for the Four Diamonds Fund. I mentioned to them last night, that when they finally got a chance to sit down after THON, all I could muster was a "Thank you" before I choked up. It is their efforts, along with other throughout the years that gave our family (and gives many other families) a chance to live, a chance to love. My admiration and love for these selfless folks grown every year.

And one last note. Sunday morning we (my girlfriend, myself, and 4 of our 5 kids [our 12 year old daughter was already at THON checking up on our dancers] went downtown for breakfast prior to going to the BJC for the rest of the day. Next to us was a family of four having breakfast and struck a very brief conversation with us about THON, my girlfriend being a survivor and how great it was that we involved our kids in the event. Before they left, we exchanged pleasantries and they wished us a good day. Then the bill came. Well, actually it didn't. That family had quietly paid for our meal as they left the restaurant. It is this along with many other reasons why there's no place like Penn State. And in the off chance someone from that family visits this board: Thank you. You made our day and also taught our kids a lesson on the importance of random acts of kindness and paying it forward.
 
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Just to share my personal thoughts on this ...

THON has always been a great thing in my mind and I liked everything it stood for everything it meant ... until this year ... when it took on a greater meaning for me. A friend of mine about my age (I'm 31 if you want to know) had her 3rd child born in 2015. He passed away a few months ago due to cancer. Just knowing on a personal level someone who had to go through this ... especially around 2 pm when you're listening to parents "talking" to their kids who have passed away ... makes you realize the gravity of this event and how great this is what our students do. This is THE best thing about Penn State and is one of many reasons I'm PROUD to be a Penn Stater.

P.S. On a story I thought was kinda cool ... she (my friend) lives in North Carolina and isn't through the Four Diamonds and knew she wouldn't see her child's name during the broadcast. So she told a friend who told a student and these two students ended up taking a pic with a sign of his name just so he could be "recognized." It's amazing sometimes the smallest things that people can do that can just be so amazing for someone else.
 
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psualum10 said:
Just to share my personal thoughts on this ...

THON has always been a great thing in my mind and I liked everything it stood for everything it meant ... until this year ... when it took on a greater meaning for me. A friend of mine about my age (I'm 31 if you want to know) had her 3rd child born in 2015. He passed away a few months ago due to cancer. Just knowing on a personal level someone who had to go through this ... especially around 2 pm when you're listening to parents "talking" to their kids who have passed away ... makes you realize the gravity of this event and how great this is what our students do. This is THE best thing about Penn State and is one of many reasons I'm PROUD to be a Penn Stater.

P.S. On a story I thought was kinda cool ... she (my friend) lives in North Carolina and isn't through the Four Diamonds and knew she wouldn't see her child's name during the broadcast. So she told a friend who told a student and these two students ended up taking a pic with a sign of his name just so he could be "recognized." It's amazing sometimes the smallest things that people can do that can just be so amazing for someone else.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing this story. So sorry for your friend's loss.
 

Goldman noted Terp Thon's $1 million accomplishment is something that will make them stand out among similar events at other colleges. At least eight other Big Ten universities, including Penn State and Rutgers University, participate in dance marathons to raise money for various beneficiaries.

"We are the fastest-growing dance marathon in the country," Goldman said. "It took Penn State's Thon — which is the really famous one — it took them 20 years to raise $1 million, and it took us eight. So we made history."​
 
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ChiTownLion said:
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Goldman noted Terp Thon's $1 million accomplishment is something that will make them stand out among similar events at other colleges. At least eight other Big Ten universities, including Penn State and Rutgers University, participate in dance marathons to raise money for various beneficiaries.

"We are the fastest-growing dance marathon in the country," Goldman said. "It took Penn State's Thon — which is the really famous one — it took them 20 years to raise $1 million, and it took us eight. So we made history."​
Click to expand...

Not to take anything away from their efforts, but the economy has grown quite a bit since Penn State started THON. Second, Penn State was the trailblazer, while maryland and all other schools have had the benefit of studying and then following the THON blueprint.

Why take a shot at another school while touting your own success in a charity?
 
Please take this opportunity to remember that Penn State has a culture problem.
 
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