When I first got to the University of Delaware, I knew I wanted to get involved with something. Throughout high school I was always involved in some activity or club and I was missing that. It was not that hard to get involved with UDance because everywhere I went I heard or saw something about it. Being a freshman I really had no idea what UDance was, so I decided to go to an interest meeting. At the meeting they went over the basics of UDance, how it is a 12-hour dance marathon and all the money raised goes to childhood cancer. The meeting discussed how to raise the money and how to get involved. Along with all the great things UDance stood for, what really made me want to get involved is the people who were already were involved. They were so passionate and I could tell being involved in UDance had really changed them and I wanted that too. I decided to apply to be an Engagement Coordinator. As an engagement coordinator, my job was to get people involved in UDance, especially the freshmen. I attended weekly meetings, held engagement fairs in the resident halls, and personally raised just under $500.
The work kept me busy and I enjoyed it. I made some great friends through it and it was an awesome organization to get involved in. But what really did it for me was what I learned. The things I learned about childhood cancer will stay with me forever. Hearing the heart wrenching facts about how many kids are diagnosed in a month, week, and even in a day was eye opening. Seeing what these kids go through while they struggle through cancer will always be in the back on my mind. It is amazing to me how strong these kids are and how well they handle their problems. Some of these kids suffer every day with smiles on their faces. These kids are so grateful for all that we do and all they truly want in return is for no one else to suffer like them. It is so inspiring and truly makes all your problems seem so small. It was not only the struggling from the kids but also their families that inspired me. UDance also raises money that goes directly to families to help them with medical bills and other payments. These families are going through so much and only ask for as little as $200. These families also struggle through this with smiles on their faces and are always so thankful of us and what we do. Really puts things in perspective!
The more events I went to the more inspired I was. Being a freshmen this was all so new to me and I could not wait to experience it all. Every event left a mark on me and is something that I will always remember. As the day of UDance came closer, the campus really showed their support. Students were genuinely excited to go. Everyone had something in common, they all loved hero hour. Hero hour is when all the B+ Heros get to go up on stage and dance for an hour. A B+ Hero is a kid who is suffering from childhood cancer that gets paired with a club, organization, fraternity, sorority, or sports team here at Delaware. When these kids went up on stage, I could finally see what everyone was so excited about. The smiles and genuine enjoyment that the children got from their moment to shine brought tears to student’s eyes. This hour, for me, made UDance so special because I finally got to see all our work paid off. At this point, it was not about the time or money I spent on UDance, it was about the kids. This is also when I realized UDance’s motto was “FTK, For The Kids”.
I cannot wait for next year’s UDance!!
