DUBOIS – Evan Aravich and Jessica Metzger can finally rest. The designated Penn State DuBois THON dancers both lasted through the entire 46-hour dance marathon at the Bryce Jordan Center this weekend.
Along the way, they helped to break two THON records. The overall THON total came in at $13,343,517, the most the event has made yet.
Additionally, the Penn State DuBois THON Committee contributed $17,000 of that total through their fund raising efforts, exceeding the campus goal of $15,000. The previous campus record was $16,200, set in 2012.
“I’m super proud of all of them. They’re amazing,” said Penn State DuBois Assistant Director of Student Affairs Marly Doty about the entire campus THON Committee.
In reflecting on the accomplishment of staying on their feet for 46 consecutive hours, the dancers said the atmosphere at THON helped them through it.
“The energy of everyone else in the Bryce Jordan Center is what did it for me,” Metzger said. “Also, knowing that no one else was going to quit kept me going.”
All proceeds from THON directly benefit the Four Diamonds Fund, an organization dedicated to battling childhood cancer. Students from across all of Penn State work in numerous ways to raise money for the cause, holding the dance marathon at the end of a long fundraising season.