UPPER BURRELL, Pa. — They traveled different roads to get to the campus, but Penn State New Kensington’s THON dancers will follow the same route to University Park for THON Weekend, Friday to Sunday, Feb. 19 to 21. Watipaso Kumwenda, a native of the Republic of Malawi in southeast Africa, and Ben Lesko, who hails from the city of New Kensington, were selected to represent the campus at the largest student-run philanthropy in the world.
Officially known as the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, THON is a 46-hour, no sitting, no sleeping dance marathon at the Bryce Jordan Center on Penn State's University Park campus. The theme of the 44th edition is “Believe Beyond Boundaries.”
“I like that it’s a unique student-led philanthropic organization,” said Kumwenda, a sophomore biomedical engineering technology (BET) major. “We are dancing for a great cause to raise awareness of childhood cancer and to provide support, both emotionally and financially, to children and families.”
Like their counterparts across the Penn State Commonwealth Campus system, Kumwenda and Lesko are raising money for their favorite charity, the Four Diamonds Fund at the Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital. THON’s mission is to defeat pediatric cancer.
The campus duo will be dancing for the hopes and dreams of children with cancer, and raising millions of dollars for cancer research.
“Every day we go through our lives, and sometimes we take for granted the life we have and the things we can do,” said Lesko, a senior in the information sciences and technology program. “For these kids and their families, these simple luxuries we have, they would give almost anything for.”
Wati KuwendaKumwenda, who holds a bachelor’s degree in medical engineering from Swansea University in Wales, gravitated toward the New Kensington campus because of the BET program, one of only three accredited programs in the country. Biomedical technicians operate, maintain, troubleshoot and repair medical equipment.
“I underwent various clinical internships and found the hands-on aspect of biomedical technical work to be invigorating,” said Kumwenda, who will earn an associate degree in May. “I discovered how highly sought-after biomedical technicians were in Malawi and resolved to gain the best hands-on experience in the field, so I could make a difference back home.”
Kumwenda grew up in Blantyre, the second-largest city in Malawi and home to 1.1 million residents. She attended St. Andrews International High School, which has a student body that comprises 40 nationalities. Besides quality academics, the school emphasizes extracurricular activities, including sports and clubs.
Since matriculating in fall 2014, Kumwenda has embraced campus extracurricular activities. She is the resident assistant of the Nittany Highlands Apartments, a campus-affiliated, privately owned housing complex adjacent to campus. She serves on the boards of numerous student organizations, including Campus Activities Board, Global Student Organization, and Multicultural Club. In addition, she is a member of the Lion Ambassadors and Orientation Leaders.
Kumwenda also has a job on campus as polycom classroom facilitator for the campus’ telecommunications system. She serves as a conduit between fellow students and campus professors. Polycom allows collaboration among geographically dispersed groups, such as students at other campuses, via video and voice distribution.
Kumwenda troubleshoots problems that may arise during classroom use of Polycom services.
Off-campus activities include attending the Black Leadership Conference in Higher Education, where she earned the Outstanding Student award, and honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by performing community service in Monaca in Beaver County and McKeesport in Allegheny County.
When she is not studying, volunteering or working, Kumwenda can be found in the Forum Theatre, rehearsing on stage or working behind the scenes. In the past two years, she was the stage manager for “The Toxic Avenger,” Little Red Riding Hood in “Into the Woods,” and assistant director for “Beyond Therapy.”
After graduation, Kumwenda will continue her stay in the United States to complete an internship in a Pittsburgh hospital, which will provide clinical experience in the biomedical field. She will return to her homeland to embark on a biomedical engineering career. To help improve health care in her native country, teaching will be a part of her professional career.
“I have many goals, including becoming certified in as many biomedical and clinical engineering areas as possible,” Kumwenda said. “I plan on becoming a contractor and offering my services to local hospitals. I want to train other Malawians in the field to uplift and maintain the biomedical technology industry in my country.”
Ben LeskoWhile Kumwenda traveled more than 8,000 miles to matriculate at the campus, Lesko had a more modest journey of five miles. He chose to attend the campus because of the quality of its four-year information sciences and technology program and to save money.
“Penn State New Kensington is local and has the major I wanted,” Lesko said. “I can commute and graduate with the same Penn State degree I would get from University Park.”
Like most THON dancers, Lesko is involved in numerous campus activities. He serves as vice president of the Campus Activities Board and as an orientation leader. He also plays for the campus baseball team.
His in-class and out-of-class work provided opportunities for tuition assistance. Lesko is the recipient of two campus scholarships — the Penn State New Kensington Advisory Board Trustee and Dr. N.A. Kopelman and Freda D. Kopelman Trustee scholarships. The Advisory Board scholarship is geared toward upperclassmen who are campus leaders, i.e., Lion Ambassadors, Student Government Association officials and student club officers. The Kopelman scholarship, created by Jim and Eileen Kopelman in 2009, is awarded to students who have achieved superior academic record.
In between extracurricular activities, Lesko fits in three jobs: assistant in the Student Activities office; front desk assistant in the Athletics Center; and server at Longhorn Steakhouse at the Pittsburgh Mills mall.
Prepping for the marathonFor the past month, Kumwenda and Lesko have prepared, physically and mentally, for the endurance test. Workouts, regimented sleep schedules and healthy eating are a part of a routine to get them primed for THON weekend.
“I work out to get my endurance up,” Kumwenda said. “I’m getting much advice from previous THON dancers and moralers.”
“Before the holidays, I cut out three-fourths of my sugar intake, and I feel great about that,” Lesko said. “I also cut out all caffeine. I've been told by many dancer veterans that this will help out.”
Lesko also can get firsthand advice from his family. Two of his uncles danced at THON and married two THON dancers. The THON alumni continue to support the cause through annual donations.
“My aunt told me to have fun and enjoy the experience,” Lesko said. “It is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life.”
The Lesko line of Penn Staters includes Ben’s brother, Brandon Lesko, a biomedical engineering technology major, who will graduate from the campus in May.
The big weekendThe campus terpsichoreans will join more than 700 students from the 24 Penn State campuses at the Jordan Center. In Greek mythology, Terpsichore was the muse of dancing.
According to Shannon Josefoski and Shawna Fluhme, campus THON co-chairs, the number of dancers going to University Park from each campus is based on the amount of money raised by the campus the previous year. Last year, New Kensington students raised $28,000, the fourth-best total in campus history. The $52,390 raised in 2011 remains the campus standard.
The dancers were chosen by an eight-member interview committee comprised of students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni. The selections were based on participation in campus THON activities, such as spaghetti dinners, bingo bashes and other events.
Kumwenda and Lesko won’t be on their own once they hit the dance floor. The University Park THON committee assigns each dancer a moraler who attends to their needs during the marathon. Be it food, drink, or inspiration, the moraler's responsibility is to help the dancers get through the event.
In addition to the moralers, the campus is supporting the dancers with about 50 students and friends in the stands who will provide an upbeat atmosphere throughout the marathon. Lesko was a part of last year’s campus contingent. Another group of campus students will lend support by making a day trip by bus on Saturday to the Bryce Jordan Center.
Josefoski, a resident of Natrona Heights, and Fluhme, a native of Plum, will supervise the campus’s THON efforts from the stands of the Bryce Jordan Center. Surrounded by campus supporters, the co-chairs will develop and organize schedules, and manage shifts and breaks.
The New Kensington dancers will have a grand send-off at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 17, with a campus-wide "pot-luck" dinner in the Conference Center. The participants need to “carbo-load,” and students, faculty and staff are encouraged to bring an assortment of pastas and other high-energy foods to help the duo boogie all weekend. To RSVP for the THON send-off dinner, contact Lauren Blum, student life coordinator, at 724-334-6063 or ldb14@psu.edu.
Statistically speakingFinal totals for New Kensington and all the other Penn State units will be announced at the conclusion of the marathon. In the past five years, the New Kensington THON committee has collected nearly $200,000.
Since 2002, campus students have raised $300,000 to support pediatric cancer patients, families and researchers, who are working to find better treatments and, ultimately, cures for forms of cancer that afflict children. Approximately 100 new families receive support each year.
“As a dancer, I want to show these kids and their families that I am thinking of them and I'm there for them,” Lesko said. “They are not alone in this fight. That's the drive I have, that's what keeps me going in the THON organization, and that's what I will cling to during the tough hours. That’s just what THON is, it is simply ‘For the Kids,’ that is why we dance, that's why we THON.”
A live webcast of the event can be viewed at http://thon.org/webcast.
DonationsGiving to THON can be made by visiting http://donate.thon.org/. To credit Penn State New Kensington, donors should go to “General Organizations” and click the button that designates “New Kensington.”
For more on THON, visit http://www.thon.org/.