One-On-One With Past THON Dancer Sabrina Krupko
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Since the beginning of THON in 1973, thousands of brave, courageous and hard-working individuals danced the full 46 hours of THON weekend.
One of those individuals includes Sabrina Krupko, who was involved with THON all four years of her Penn State career, including two years benefiting THON at Penn State Hazleton and Ohana's THON organization at University Park.
During her second year at the Hazleton campus, Krupko got the opportunity of a lifetime to dance in THON, thanks to her heavy involvement in the organization.
The moment she knew she would be dancing was an emotional one for her and something she will never forget.
When the time arrived when all dancers were required to stand for the beginning of THON weekend, Krupko and her dance partner from Hazleton Benefiting THON weren't nervous, but instead excited about what was ahead.
"I knew that we were both well prepared," Krupko said. "I knew we had friends on the floor, friends that we can see. It was more exciting at first than nervousness for sure."
One of things Krupko pointed out about her dancing experience is what exactly the environment is like on the dance floor. "The dance floor itself is very high energy," Krupko said. "There’s lots of things going on."
She says there's various theme hours throughout the course of the weekend, which include activities for families and dancers such as All University Hour and Patriotic Hour.
These activities are meant to keep the dancers moving and alert throughout THON weekend.
Krupko enjoyed all aspects of her dancing experience, but if she had to choose a part that was her favorite, it was the final four hours. "I would say the Final Four is always my favorite part of THON and definitely was my favorite part when I danced because the Final Four is comprised of family hour.”
Throughout her dancing experience, the one person who was there to support her was her sister, Angelina, who helped her get through the fun, yet challenging weekend.
"We got in contact with her DRCM and they asked us to write encouragement letters," Krupko said. "I honestly just went with funny inside jokes just to make her laugh throughout the weekend."
As the THON 2022 dancers tackle their own dancing experience, Krupko has some advice that she would like to share with them. "Live every second of it.”
"Like I said, 46 hours sounds like it's going to be a long time, but it's going to fly by just like everything you have the opportunity to do. Live every second of it; enjoy every second of it.”
Krupko added that stretching is extremely important throughout the weekend, and it is something that dancers should do as much as possible during the 46 hours.
Despite graduating from Penn State nearly five years ago, Sabrina Krupko remains involved in THON by making monetary donations and assisting Hazleton Benefiting THON at Penn State Hazleton, where she currently serves as a staff member in the admissions department.
Christian Smith is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email cfs5591@psu.edu.
