THON is only a few days away now, and to help you all get ready, we are going to be interviewing dancers for THON 2014 all week! We’re going to be checking in with them during THON as well, and we will be giving you updates all weekend for everyone who will not be able to attend!
Our first dancer will be Jaime Pritzker, who has been chosen to dance independently. She is a senior Broadcast Journalism major and a Delta Gamma sister. We got to sit down with her before the big weekend and chat for a little, and here’s what she had to say:
So, Jaime, you were chosen as an independent dancer, can tell me how it happened?
Well, we registered online as a pair, me and my sorority sister, Olivia, in the fall of 2013. From there, we raised money like crazy by doing lots of different things like canning, fundraisers in our hometown, and solicitation cards. We were then told that we would be notified via email if we had been chosen on February 6th, from 10pm-12am. During that time, I just kept refreshing the page over and over. Midnight had come and gone and just as I was about to close the page, I saw an email filter in so I opened it right away. All I read was the word “Congratulations” and started crying. I called Olivia to tell her and she just kept screaming “No we didn’t! No we didn’t!”
What does dancing in this THON mean to you?
Everything. Not many things at Penn State mean this much to me, it’s my sorority and THON. The entire school comes together for one weekend and it is really special. You can talk to someone about THON forever. It’s massive and it’s something that is actually life changing, for families, for freshman that walk in for the first time, for the dancers, for the committee members, and, of course, for the kids. This weekend gives these kids the opportunity to breathe for a minute, to just have fun and not have to worry about their next doctor’s appointment, or constant suffering, even if it is just for a little while. You will never find someone who hasn’t hurt before, everyone knows that feeling and want to help someone who’s going through it, and that’s why THON is so meaningful and so successful.
What do you think the total will be like for this year?
I don’t think we will ever make less than the previous year, it will always be more, even if it’s by $1. But it’s not about the number, it’s about what we do for the kids. It’s about about the kids that lay up in bed sick that we are able to help through this amazing event. If its $4,000 or $4,000,000, we are helping someone, and that is what THON is really about.
What’s the one song you want to hear at THON 2014?
All The Way by Timeflies
What do you think music’s role is in THON?
Music is the #2 thing of THON, aside from having everyone there. It keeps everyone going, they play songs that makes you want to dance, and it’s those songs that carry everyone through the hours. They play songs for every part of the emotional roller coaster that is THON. Music is everything, and it can’t do anything but add to the experience. The line dance is a huge part of THON, and that’s a huge part of THON people never forget.
If you could have one artist play at THON, who would it be?
Timeflies. They’re huge, especially for a college audience, and if they played THON, it would be about having a cool added element, not about the concert and the presence of the artist.
That’s all we have from Jaime so far! We will be catching up with her during THON this weekend as well as a few other dancers and kids and families! We here at State in The Real would like to wish Jaime good luck this weekend and have a great time! We will see you all there!
