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| Jess, Sammi, Nikki, Elizabeth & Shannon |
Nikki: This year, I served as the Director of Alumni Relations for BuckeyeThon's Executive Board. This was the first year for this position and I was excited to be able to work with all the members who came before me and helped to make BuckeyeThon what it is today. It was really fulfilling to see all of the work that my committee has done this year for Alumni when we had our 1st annual Alumni Breakfast between the two shifts and all the Alumni were so excited to see what we accomplished this past year. Some of the best moment this past year have been: welcoming sisters Shannon and Elizabeth as new members of this organization with sisters Jess and Sammi, hearing all the positive feedback and support from our BuckeyeThon Alumni, seeing Ohio State students light up with passion and love for philanthropy and giving back, holding the "K" in the reveal and seeing a full Union in front of me, and hugging, crying, and celebrating with all my sisters after the reveal of $767,227.78. BuckeyeThon does wonderful things For The Kids every day but it has personally given me more than I can ever imagine in memories, experiences and friendships.
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| Go Purple Team! |
Rachel B.: Since participating in my first BuckeyeThon as a sophomore, it has become something I look forward to every February. To no surprise, this years BuckeyeThon did not disappoint. As a shift one dancer I joined nearly 4,000 of my closest Buckeye friends in the Union to dance the night away starting at 8 p.m. and going until 8 a.m. The opening ceremonies began around 7:30 p.m. in the Great Hall, where we all gathered to welcome our miracle kids. Cheering and dancing, the night was already off to a good start. This year, my parents made a trip down to see the opening ceremonies. BuckeyeThon means so much to me and I wanted my parents to experience a little taste of the journey us Buckeyes were about to embark on for the next 24 hours. While ending the ceremony with “Carmen Ohio,” I look up to my parents, to my surprise, I see my father with tears in his eyes. In a matter of five minutes, my family was able to see why BuckeyeThon means so much to me. Boy did I dance the night away. During those 12 hours, I danced harder, sillier, and with more energy then I ever have in my entire life. I donated eight inches of hair to pediatric cancer, I laughed with my sisters and best friends. I was there for the kids. As a senior and captain for the Alpha Xi Delta team, this experience suddenly became different. Around 5 a.m. it hit me that this was it. I only have three hours left to dance for the kids, or as we like to say, FTK. BuckeyeThon has changed my life. As each hour drew closer to the end, and with each tear that began to roll down my face it dawned on me, I will never stop dancing for the kids. I was anxious all day to return for the reveal after second shift dancers danced the day away. We all gathered in the great hall at 10 p.m. and the closing ceremony began. There may not have been a single dry eye in the Union as some of our miracle children’s parents shared their child’s story. Finally it was time for the reveal, the moment we had all been waiting for. This is the moment where us Buckeye’s come together to see where our hard work and fundraising for the past 365 days has taken us. As the Orton Bell chime began and each number began to raise, the room fell silent. When the final number was raised the room burst into cheers and tears as we all wept over what we had accomplished. $767,227.78 all for the kids. That number will stick with me for the rest of my life. FTK has touched my life in a way I don’t think any other set of words could. From this day forward, we are the cure. We will continue to fight. I can’t wait for these beautiful miracle children to live a cancer free life. Until then, we dance for joy, we dance for a cure, and we dance for life! Thanks for the memories BuckeyeThon, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience to shape my college career.
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| Magnolia, Caitlin, Lauren & Kayla |
Rachel J.: Coming from Pennsylvania, I always knew what Thon was, so when I came to Ohio State I wanted to look for a similar experience and found out about Buckeyethon. After my freshman year I was so moved and knew I'd be doing it every year. When the date was announced and I found out it was on my birthday I knew straight away I would still be doing Buckeyethon. Buckeyethon is such an amazing experience that I knew wouldn't want to miss out, even though it was my 21st birthday. Buckeyethon has always reminded me that even though there is so much bad in the world, there are some really amazing people in the world. The passion that people have for Buckeyethon always inspires me to be a better person. It warms my heart seeing the joy in the eyes of the kids and their families.
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| Sisters with our miracle child Mordekai |
