Written by: Martina Cornacchia and Anthony Savona

One of the most important pieces of the THON™ puzzle is our captains. They play a vital role by either leading and educating their committees or individually executing activities delegated by their roles. All the captains are incredible and amazing role models for their committees and(or) the rest of Penn State community. One of those captains is Mehreen Hoque. 

Mehreen is one of the Promotions captains on Public Relations this year. She is a third year from Springfield, Virginia majoring in marketing with a minor in supply chain. She was on a Donor and Alumni Relations committee her first year with THON in 2022 and was also a member of special interest organization Ohana. This year she is a captain of her own committee “Team AquaMehreen.” Her job is to facilitate and oversee the THON blog, being involved with committee member recruitment for THON, and help with different marketing campaigns. 

Mehreen was inspired to be a part of THON by her freshman year roommate. She was inspired to become a captain by the THON families, their stories, and her captain. Mehreen describes being a part of THON as “indescribably beautiful.”

What is so amazing about THON is that it gives memories that everyone involved will hold with them for the rest of their lives. THON 2022 holds Mehreen’s favorite THON memory. Her committee got to go on stage THON weekend to take a picture and she had the opportunity to see the entire Bryce Jordan Center lit up and full of people standing and dancing For the Kids®. Moments like this one are a perfect capture of how beautiful it is to see the unity of all the people around together fighting for a cure.

As a Promotions captain, Mehreen is a part of the PRamily. She says the best part is that this team is full of genuine people, and everyone genuinely has a lot of love for each other and the cause. She is looking forward to reading all the blogs from her committee and getting to become one big family. When asked to describe “Team AquaMehreen” in three words, she responded with “the best ever.”

During her downtime, Mehreen loves hanging out with her friends, cooking, going on drives, and playing music. 

Being a THON captain is an important and impactful role. The amount of responsibility and dedication that they have in their roles should not go unnoticed. To anyone who is thinking about becoming a THON captain, Mehreen encourages you to apply and to come from “a place of authenticity and a genuine love for THON and its mission.” From her answers, it seems as though THON has changed the rest of her life for the better. Everything she does for THON is always For the Kids®, and she cannot wait for the day where we dance in celebration instead of for a cure.