My Year As A THON Chair | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Adulting

My Year As A THON Chair

There were so many ups and a few downs, but overall one of the best years of my life.

70
My Year As A THON Chair
Anisha Patel

When I first applied to be on the board of the South Asian Student Association, I did not know what I wanted to do. I just knew it was time to start stepping into a leadership role. When the chance to be a THON Chair came up, I knew I could not refuse. Being a part of the THON community at Penn State is just one of those things that you know you have to do before you graduate. To be a part of an organization that commits to making real change in the world.

I did not know what to expect at first. The previous year's THON chairs of my organization all reached out and congratulated me and said how this would be one of the most rewarding years of my life. And they were right. As cancer is a disease most of America is all too familiar with, I knew I could make a difference as a THON Chair. So my co-chair and I started planning all of our moves out for the whole year starting last summer.

With every fundraiser that passed by and every fundraising trip we took, I could already see a difference in myself. Something inside of me ignited with every dollar raised, wanting to raise even more—because even one more dollar can make a difference. When we took our first canvassing and ribbon sales trips, I fell in love with THON even more. Seeing almost 40 people in our organization come together and spend entire weekends fundraising for the kids was like nothing I have ever seen before. From waking up early to staying up and bonding, we all knew the one thing uniting us was raising money for the cause. After each of those weekends, I always had two feelings: one of pride and one of excitement for more.

But what people do not tell you is how hard it can be. When a fundraiser does not go as planned or gets canceled at the last minute, there is this feeling of defeat that you have to work past. Or that you and you co-chair are going to try hard to motivate people but not everyone will feel the same way as you about THON, and you just want to tell them all of the wonderful things we can do for the kids and make them understand, but you can't.

More than once, I can remember feeling frustrated that we may not meet our goals but for reasons out of our hands. But then you see all of the pictures on the THON social media pages of the children affected by cancer, still smiling and the joy they find during THON weekend, and you remember why you do this. You do it for them. You do it for their futures. You do it so every little boy and girl out there have a chance at growing up.

With THON right around the corner, I am so proud to be a THON chair. I feel okay about all of the downs, and happy about all of the ups because no matter how much we raised as an organization, we have the chance to help make life a little better for the children and their families affected by cancer. And I know that everything we do, it is for the kids.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Gilmore Girls
Hypable

In honor of Mother’s Day, I have been thinking of all the things my mom does for my family and me. Although I couldn’t write nearly all of them, here are a few things that moms do for us.

They find that shirt that’s right in front of you, but just you can’t seem to find.

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

10 Reasons To Thank Your Best Friend

Take the time to thank that one friend in your life you will never let go of.

4408
Thank You on wooden blocks

1. Thank you for being the one I can always count on to be honest.

A true friend will tell you if the shirt is ugly, or at least ask to borrow it and "accidentally" burn it.

2. Thank you for accepting me for who I am.

A best friend will love you regardless of the stale french fries you left on the floor of your car, or when you had lice in 8th grade and no one wanted to talk to you.

Keep Reading...Show less
sick student
StableDiffusion

Everybody gets sick once in a while, but getting sick while in college is the absolute worst. You're away from home and your mom who can take care of you and all you really want to do is just be in your own bed. You feel like you will have never-ending classwork to catch up on if you miss class, so you end up going sick and then it just takes longer to get better. Being sick in college is really tough and definitely not a fun experience. Here are the 15 stages that everyone ends up going through when they are sick at college.

Keep Reading...Show less
kid
Janko Ferlic
Do as I say, not as I do.

Your eyes widen in horror as you stare at your phone. Beads of sweat begin to saturate your palm as your fingers tremble in fear. The illuminated screen reads, "Missed Call: Mom."

Growing up with strict parents, you learn that a few things go unsaid. Manners are everything. Never talk back. Do as you're told without question. Most importantly, you develop a system and catch on to these quirks that strict parents have so that you can play their game and do what you want.

Keep Reading...Show less
friends
tv.com

"Friends" maybe didn’t have everything right or realistic all the time, but they did have enough episodes to create countless reaction GIFs and enough awesomeness to create, well, the legacy they did. Something else that is timeless, a little rough, but memorable? Living away from the comforts of home. Whether you have an apartment, a dorm, your first house, or some sort of residence that is not the house you grew up in, I’m sure you can relate to most of these!

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments