100 Days ‘Til Thon Celebrated in HUB on Wednesday
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — THON is just 100 days away. Usually, thousands of Penn State students pack the HUB-Robeson Center to celebrate the occasion.
This year, it looked a bit different due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the executive directors of THON were in the HUB, the event was live streamed for the rest of its usual audience.
Brian Seitz is a senior and is THON’s special events director. Even though much of THON will look different this year, Seitz is still working to keep enthusiasm up.
“We really wanted to focus on making students excited and instill a sense of excitement throughout the community,” Seitz said. “We’re focusing on building up the live stream component this year and making sure that people around the world are excited for THON weekend.”
The event ran from 11 a.m. on Wednesday morning until 5 p.m. that night. It kicked off with introductions and a line dance. The day continued with a family speaker, a human photo reveal and closing remarks.
It concluded with the unveiling of THON’s 2021 “Rise and Unify” logo.
With so many aspects of THON being different this year, Seitz sees it as an opportunity to change the ways he approaches the event.
“What’s really cool about THON this year is that we have a blank slate to rewrite what we’ve done in the past,” Seitz said. “We can look forward into uncertainty with a positive mindset and rethink everything that we do and focus on the mission again.”
As THON continues to inch closer, fundraising has already begun. THON announced two weeks ago it raised nearly 700,000 dollars as a part of its dream-forward campaign.
Last year, THON raised over 11 million dollars and will work to beat that mark when the 46-hour dance marathon kicks off on Friday, Feb. 19.
Jake Starr is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jas7954@psu.edu.
Kyle Cannillo contributed to this story.
About the Contributors
Kyle Cannillo
Junior / Journalism
Kyle Cannillo is involved with CommRadio at Penn State University, producing content such as writing articles, hosting podcasts, participating in live shows and broadcasting play-by-play for Penn State athletics. He is currently a production assistant for Penn State Athletics, doing live video production for BTN + and University Streams. He previously interned with CBS station WTAJ, where he received hands on-experience in all newsroom operations, including reporting, production, camerawork and sports. He has high hopes to be successful in a communication-related career. He is skilled in public speaking, takes initiative, and has a tenacious work ethic. His mission is to use optimism, determination and respect to uncover and report fascinating stories from people who have genuine experiences.
Jake Starr
Senior / Broadcast Journalism
Jake Starr is a soon-to-be graduate from Penn State. He has spent the last year and a half as the general manager of CommRadio, where he helped oversee all seven departments and over 200 members. Prior to that, Jake worked as the station’s news director. In addition, he is a play-by-play broadcaster with experience calling nine sports across various outlets. In addition to calling games for CommRadio, Jake has called games for Big Ten Plus and ESPN+ for Bucknell University. For the last two summers, he has worked in summer collegiate baseball. Most recently, Jake served as a broadcaster for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. You can follow Jake on Twitter @jstarr1999 and email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)!
