Mar 31, 2003 By Kris Schiffbauer 5 min read

Seth Myers managed to stay awake and on his feet for two consecutive days in February. It’s no wonder he slept 12 straight hours when the ordeal was over. He said he actually slept about 20 hours combined by the time he recovered.

“Standing up for the 48 hours is probably something I never want to subject myself to again. Being on your feet and being awake makes your body want to go into shock,” he said.

Myers, a Dunbar resident who is majoring in information sciences and technology, and Brenna Shultz, a Connellsville resident pursuing a nursing degree, represented Penn State Fayette as the local dance couple in the 2003 Penn State Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon.

Affectionately called THON, the event attracted dancers from throughout the Penn State system and about 5,000 spectators to University Park for a full winter weekend.

The dance marathon marks the end of concentrated fund-raising for the Four Diamonds Fund of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. The fund helps children with cancer and their families.

The local campus this year added about $33,652 to that fund.

“They did a great job, especially considering what we had to deal with this year with bad weather during canning weekends and snow, the war and poor economy,” said THON sponsor Chad A. Long, assistant to the director of student affairs.

He also applauded the dancers and morale team for a great job at the event.

The team members helped celebrate their efforts at a recent awards ceremony on campus, at which the THON team presented campus Executive Officer Dr. Gregory Gray with special awards. Penn State Fayette, for the sixth consecutive year, won the first place Commonwealth Campus Award for raising the most money from among Penn State’s campuses. And, they won the first place Spirit Award for the exuberant conduct of the morale team that accompanied the dancers.

THON team chairwoman Beth Tom was pleased with the team’s overall effort, which included several months of fund-raising with collection cans, donor pledges and a few special events.

“This year was my absolute favorite year. I was involved four years, and this year made a nice ending for me,” she said.

Tom said she especially was pleased with a new event the team staged. They hosted what they called a Mini-mini THON with preschoolers of the Cub’s Den Childcare Center on campus. They also continued the popular Mini THON held the last few years at the Uniontown Mall with local high school students participating. Another highlight for Tom was Christmas caroling with the team, an event she said helped bring the members closer together.

Tom said it was nice to continue the campus’ winning tradition with the awards they won this year, but she worked to put an emphasis on the children and families who benefit from the Four Diamonds Fund, playing down the element of competition.

“I didn’t talk about the competition and didn’t put pressure on the team,” she said.

Tom said the Penn State Fayette team this year “adopted” a 16-year-old girl, Tawny Fultz, who was diagnosed last summer with a form of lymphoma, and her family from Middleburg. She said the team kept in touch with the girl and her family, who even visited the students twice, attending the Mini THON and send-off dinner.

“The fund helped them more emotionally than financially,” she said.

Tom said the Fultz family participated for the first time with THON, and she was able to spend time with them, something she was unable to do with other Four Diamonds Fund families. Although the money the teams raise goes directly to the fund, the team the last few years has made contact with a family, for morale purposes.

“They were so nice and appreciative of everything we do,” she said. “It made a difference for me.”

At the dance marathon, Tom estimated, 30 students and alumni attended to help support the dancers. A senior this year, Tom said her involvement with THON will not end when she graduates.

“I plan to come back as an alumni member,” she said.

Jen Bowers, a human development and family services major from Uniontown, said that, because she has had such a good time with the team and can’t wait to participate again, she has already made a pitch to replace Tom as THON chairwoman.

“I thought it was an awesome experience to see the dedication Penn State students do have toward something so great and meaningful,” she said.

Marlene Lytle, a human development and family services major from Belle Vernon who organized the Mini THON, said she too looks forward to the next THON campaign and was hard-pressed to come up with one highlight of the experience.

“Everything was the highlight,” she said.

Myers, who has been active with the THON team three or four years and served in various capacities with a couple committees, said he decided to dance “because it was something I wanted to do before I graduated.”

Penn State Fayette students compete via individual fund-raising to become the campus’ dance couple. Myers and Shultz raised more money than anyone else by a certain date for the honor of representing the campus.

Myers said one can do little to prepare for the 48-hour THON, but he still made the effort, buying and breaking in new shoes with good soles and giving up caffeine. Myers said the recovery was probably tougher than all the preparation, including fund-raising, but it was worth it.

“The experience of being on the floor for 48 hours and everybody doing the same things at the same time was pretty cool,” he said.