UNIVERSITY PARK – A Clearfield native will have a chance to dance in the largest student run philanthropy in the world.
Alex Angstadt, a meteorology major at Penn State DuBois will be among those dancing at the annual event to help conquer childhood cancer. According to THON’s Web site, “In 1973, a small group of dedicated Penn State students held our first Dance Marathon. That year, 34 dancers participated and raised $2,000. Since then, THON’s presence in the Penn State community has grown exponentially. THON now has 15,000 student volunteers, 700 dancers, and has raised more than $61 million, benefiting The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Children’s Hospital.
“THON is now a year-long effort that raises funds and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer. With the support of students from all across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and THON Alumni all around the world, we continue to make great strides towards finding a cure for all childhood cancers!”
Angstadt explained that he and his dance partner were lucky to be picked to take part in the dance marathon. He explained the process:
“To be considered for a dancer position, one must first join the THON organization. There are a lot of activities that go on during the year that THON participants are encouraged to get involved with.
“Some activities would include canning at local store fronts on weekends, participating in spaghetti dinners, blood drives, and various community activities. The more one is present and volunteers at these events, the greater their chances are of being considered to be a THON dancer.
“When the time comes, one must fill out an application form which requires answer questions about your personal involvement in THON. A committee then examines these applications and two dancers are selected.”
According to Angstadt, this where luck comes into play.
“Each campus that has a THON organization is required to raise a minimal $2,500 to be able to have dancers. Once they do this, a ticket with their campus name is placed into a basket. Every time the campus raises an additional $500, they are able to get another ticket put into the basket.”
Angstadt said the larger campuses will have more tickets due to their ability to raise more money.
“As for the smaller Penn State campuses like us, Penn State DuBois, this is sometimes a difficult task,” said Angstadt. “Though the odds were against us, our campus name was picked from the basket, and now myself and my dance partner will be able to participate in this years THON dance marathon.”
Angstadt said that cancer has affected him all his life, which drew him to take part in THON.
“I have always known about THON ever since I was younger, and I could not wait for my chance to be able to participate in it. Just knowing that my efforts are directly saving a child’s life is the most rewarding feeling on Earth. I wanted to make myself available whenever possible to ensure that I was maximizing my efforts to help save lives.”
As stated earlier, Angstadt is a meteorology major. He noted that while this makes most people think of weather men, that is not what he aspires to.
“I plan to travel to Oklahoma in hopes to be an employee of the National Weather Service Center, or NOAA,” said Angstadt. “From there, I want to be a storm chaser. Yes, this involves chasing tornadoes.
“I have wanted to this since I was in the third grade, and I am still “chasing” that dream. I am involved with THON, and I am also a first year senator for our student government here at Penn State DuBois. I attend various leadership events, and next year I plan to run for Student Government President.”
Storm chasing isn’t the only thing Angstadt is looking forward to.
“Being at THON weekend and dancing for 48 hours straight will allow me to show my appreciation for everything that THON has given to me,” said Angstadt “I am excited to meet all of the other dancers from the other campuses and share our stories and THON experiences.”
“I am looking forward to meeting and spending time with our THON family, the Setlocks, We support their son Joey with his cancer treatments and medical expenses. Thankfully Joey has been cancer free for 3 years.