Thon Express

Kate Carpenter

In 2004 I was 19 years old, studying elementary education at PSU and my friend Kristin told me I should try-out to be on a morale committee. I did, I made it and I was given the opportunity that would ultimately change the course of my life. After Thon 2004 I knew that I had to get more involved. So the following year I applied to be a Morale Captain. In September 2004 I found out I had bee selected. My position was the Hospitality and Marketing liaison. I accepted the responsibility of tracking and ordering needs of the Overall Morale Committee. During my experience as a Morale Captain, I was given the chance to become close with several Thon families, as well as meet some of my very best friends.  A little nervous that nothing could top my Morale Captain experience I entered my Senior year of college. Determined to be very active in Thon, but also manage the fourth grade classroom I was student teaching, I applied, and was accepted onto the Overall Marketing Committee.  Conveniently, I was given the position as the Morale Liaison. In the early fall I also decided to be an independent dancer. So while I balanced the work of school and the Overall Marketing Committee, I also canned and fundraised with my dance partner. Together, we were some of the highest individual fundraisers, making over $10,000. In February 2006 with my parents, friends, and hundreds of other Penn Staters, I danced, danced, and danced some more. I was a part of the last 48-hour Thon to be held in Rec hall, an experience I will cannot put into words and will certainly never forget.

I graduated in 2006, accepted a teaching position in my hometown of Canton, Connecticut and spent my first week at summer camp! The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp is an environment of love and support for children suffering from AIDS, HIV, sickle cell anemia, cancer, or hemophilia. It gave me the opportunity to foster courage, strength, wisdom, honesty, and a whole lot of camaraderie among campers. I was keeping the THON spirit alive all the way in Connecticut! I have continued to volunteer every summer since, spending a total of 8 weeks volunteering.

In February of 2007 I approached my principal and told him I wanted to get my 6^th graders involved in a fundraiser. I explained to him what THON was and how I wanted to have  “Mini-Thon.” I was still in Connecticut at the time and I knew I had an obligation to keep the fundraising local.  Donations went to the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. My principal thought I was slightly crazy for starting a fundraiser in my first year of teaching, but I attacked the challenge fiercely. At R.O.C.K. (Rock On to Cure Kids) teams of students rocked non-stop in rocking chairs, raising more than $7,200.  It has since become an annual event, raising over $13,000.

It is now 2008 and I am back in school. After two years of teaching I decided that I wanted to use my ability to work with children in other capacities. I am studying to become a certified Child Life Specialist. I want a career where I can help children cope with the stress and anxiety of the hospital experience. It was through Thon that I first learned of the field.

While I understand that this is a much longer response than you were probably looking for, I wanted you to see how much of an impact Thon has had on my life. Despite that the fact that I graduated from Penn State nearly three years ago, Thon has been a common thread throughout the last 5 years and continued to influence many of my life decisions. I want to run in the 2009 Thon Express because it will allow me to continue to do what I love: spread the message of courage, wisdom, honesty, and strength as I fight pediatric cancer.