Impact

Law student organization to field THON dancers for the first time

From left to right, law students Dru Miller, Megan Janowiak, Carrie Babiasz, Marcy McLaughlin, and Jeffrey Gdovin raised money for THON. Miller and Babiasz will dance in the no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon.  Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

Penn State's Dickinson School of Law has been a THON organization since 2005, but this is the first year the school’s team has qualified to field dancers. That was accomplished by last year’s THON campaign team which raised $10,266, contributing to the more than $12 million donated overall to THON last year. Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, commonly known as THON, is a yearlong fundraising and awareness campaign for the fight against pediatric cancer. Engaging more than 15,000 students across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, THON is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. It is the oldest and longest dance marathon in the country, having raised more than $101 million dollars for the Four Diamonds Fund at the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital since THON's inception.

"I'm very excited and honored to be one of the first two students to be representing Penn State Law in THON, and I can't wait to see the continued success of THON at Penn State Law in the future," said Dru Miller, who is set to graduate in 2015. "Dancing in THON has been a dream of mine throughout undergrad and law school, so I feel extremely fortunate to be accomplishing that goal," he added. 

Carrie Babiasz, Class of 2014, will be Miller's partner for the 46-hour event beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, and ending at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23. She said that fundraising has been a team effort and law students, faculty, and staff have been very generous. Babiasz also attended Penn State as an undergrad and became involved with THON early on as did this year's co-chair Megan Janowiak, Class of 2014, who danced in THON as an undergrad. "I am convinced that is impossible to experience THON weekend and witness a maximum capacity BJC full of students, not thinking of themselves, but coming together 'For The Kids' without wanting to get involved somehow. It’s infectious, and I think that has stuck with me and the rest of the group. ... Though some of us are about to finish law school, there is no graduating from THON," Babiasz said. 

Babiasz and the rest of the team, which includes Janowiak, Miller, Marcy McLaughlin, Jeff Gdovin, Katie Rimpfel and Matthew McDonald, and first-year students Lauren Holzer and Jacqueline Scweichler, have been raising funds since starting at the Law School through events such as Mr. Dickinson, canning trips and the THONvelope partnership with PDP. But the team has a way to go to reach their goal of $15,000.

Contributions can be made directly to the Dickinson For The Kids Team at http://giveto.psu.edu/THON-Dickinson. You can also connect with the team via their Facebook page.

Babiasz added, "Don’t forget to come to THON weekend to cheer on our dancers — No tickets. No fees. Just an experience you will never forget."

Last Updated July 22, 2015