What motivated you to become a dancer?
The people that danced last year kept talking about how
amazing it was for them. Hearing them and they’re excitement about dancing was
really motivating.
From our first meeting this year, I wanted the experience
they had, so I just went for it and got it.
There is a
lot of anticipation leading up to the finale. What was it like walking through
the human tunnel and onto the BJC?
It was like it wasn’t real. Just going through the moralers
and parents and THON families, and they’re cheering you on. That’s special.
Seeing our campus in the front row going crazy for you, you
have no idea what to do, but be excited to be there. You’re overwhelmed with
excitement and adrenaline.
Elaine Tanella takes
the stage and talks a little about herself and THON. Then, she starts a
countdown for dancers to stand. What’s it like to finally stand?
The adrenaline is just rushing through your body, and you
don’t know what to do. You just want it to start.
When she starts the countdown you just go crazy inside, and,
then, you realize you’re going to stand. You see everyone in the stands and the
families and kids around you cheering.
You know that’s why you’re there, and it’s an amazing
feeling
Every dancer goes
through some challenges be it a headache, sore feet, dehydration or general
tiredness. How were you able to push through those challenges?
Late Saturday at some point I started getting really tired.
I didn’t know how to keep myself awake.
My moraler had me running back and forth and doing jumping
jacks. That was hard to overcome, but once I snapped back in it I was over
being tired.
On Sunday my feet really started to hurt. To stay awake you
have to keep moving, but for the last four hours it was hard to keep moving.
But seeing all of those kids around and knowing what they’ve been through is
really motivating.
When you see them with you, you know you can go four more hours.
What’s your favorite
moment with a child from that weekend?
All of it was amazing.
We found one little girl, Isabella, and she was just kind of
standing with her mom. She was shy and not sure if she wanted to talk to
anyone.
She wanted to play with a yoyo I had, so Erin and I played
with her for like 45 minutes. It was like she forgot about everything else
happening in her life. To see her just having fun and not worrying about what
she has to go through was good for her and really special for us.
How did you become
New Kensington’s new THON chair?
I was definitely thinking about it. Going into [the Friday
after THON] a lot of people said, ‘You’re running for THON chair, right?’
I wanted to know that I could handle it before I committed to it.
Being THON chair is a huge responsibility, because everything that happens with
New Kensington THON falls back on me. When we were taking nominations everyone
was like, ‘Kelsie you have to run.’
I’m definitely excited that I was nominated. Once again, I
think it’s going to be another life changing experience.
You can’t compare THON to anything else.
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