By: Eva Patt and Emma Dalrymple
THON™ Weekend 2023 is finally here! My name is Emma, and I am going to take you through THON Weekend as Promotions Committee Member (CM).
So, over the weekend we had five separate shifts. This spanned the whole forty-six hours of THON weekend. THON Weekend begins at 6pm, and our first shift started at 7pm on February 17th so the Bryce Jordan Center was boomin (this was a lyric in the line dance that is done every hour – so it is still stuck in my head)! Our jobs as a Promotions CMs included working at the SME – also known as the Social Media Entrance – selling diamond guides on the concourse, and interviewing dancers for our blog posts on the floor. Our committee was split into three different groups, so each hour we were assigned a different job. My partner Eva and I personally enjoyed switching every hour because we were always doing something new, and we also sometimes got to be on the floor while the line dances were happening. Our first shift ended at 12 am so after that we headed home to get some sleep!
Let me tell you, 4 am on February 18th came around quicker than we thought it would, but honestly, we were feeling pretty good. Personally, I hopped out of bed and changed into my on-shift shirt, and I was out the door to make it to the BJC by 5 am. It was absolutely freezing walking back and forth to the BJC, but once I walked through those doors even at 5am people were wide awake. Our jobs were the same each shift, so we went on our way once we got situated. Selling diamond guides in the early morning was a little slow because there were not many people entering the BJC at that time, but we did our very best! This shift ended at 9:30 am, so we went home to get a quick catnap in.
Our next shift began at 1:00 pm and surprisingly I did sleep until about 11:45 am. After that nap I was ready to go. Honestly it was not too hard getting up knowing that there were people standing for forty-six hours getting no sleep, let alone being able to even sit down. I truly am amazed with everyone who dances for the full forty-six hours, it is a dream of mine in my four years here at Penn State. This shift ended at 5pm and we only had two more shifts for the weekend. I stayed between our 5 pm shift and 11 pm because the pep rally took place during this time, and I knew I wanted to experience it! It was so much fun! Our next shift was 11:00pm to 4:00am and our final one was 7:00am to 10:00 am on the final day of THON Weekend February 19th. I am so happy that I was a part of such an amazing committee, I truly met some amazing people that will have a lasting impact on my life. We shared some of the best moments together, lots of laughs and smiles, and I couldn’t be more thankful for this opportunity, of being part of Team AquaMehreen.
Being a part of THON was an incredible and eye-opening experience, one that I will truly never forget. As a Promotions Committee Member, you really see all the hard work you have done all year come together in one weekend. I give so much credit to all the captains, committee members, dancers, and even supporters in the stands, because of all of us we are the largest student run philanthropy in the world. That is something that each and everyone involved in THON should be proud of.