"Whether I shall turn out to
be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody
else, these pages must show."
First sentence, David Copperfield, by Charles
Dickens
Stand Up for the
Kids
When I first
stepped onto the University of Texas at Austin campus in the fall of 2005, I
could only wonder where my four years would lead me. I was no longer withheld under the constant influence of my
parents; instead, I could explore the world for myself and make my own
decisions. I could create my own
successes and learn from my own mistakes.
Would I rise to the occasion?
Would I uphold NewmanÕs purpose of a University Òof training good
members of societyÓ?[1] When my time comes to leave this
university and enter the real world, I hope to look back on this question and
be able to answer ÒyesÓ with a smile on my face. In the meantime during my ÒwonderlandÓ experience, I have
taken many challenging courses to further myself academically, met a diverse
group of people that increases my social awareness, and become involved in an
organization called Dance Marathon that will hopefully improve my leadership
skills as well as my character.
Although the name
may be misleading, Dance Marathon is not all about dancing. Members of Dance Marathon, or
Òdancers,Ó pledge to raise one-hundred dollars and stay standing on their feet
for twelve hours in Gregory Gym.
All of the money raised by the dancers goes toward the Dell ChildrenÕs
Medical Center of Central Texas.
This year Dance Marathon gave over $35,000 to the childrenÕs
hospital. Because of Dance
Marathon, the new Dell ChildrenÕs Medical Center of Central Texas will have
state-of-the-art facilities such as a therapy pool, a rehabilitation gym, bone
marrow transplant amenities, and a healing garden. Although many of the children are sick and unable to go
outside, sunlight is still very important to their well-being. The new hospital will be lit by
sunlight during the day through huge windows.
Figure 1: A healing garden that will be present in
the new hospital[2]
In order to raise
enough money to provide these new facilities, dancers attend the many fundraising
and social events are set up throughout the fall semester in the West Mall and
in front of Gregory. Everything
comes together during one day in the spring semester for the ÒmarathonÓ of standing
for twelve hours. The Dance
Marathon committee works very hard to plan for fun entertainment, delicious
food, and adorable kids from the hospital to come to the event so the day seems
to progress quickly. The main idea
of Dance Marathon is that by standing on our feet for twelve hours, we will in
essence feel something for those children diagnosed with life-threatening
illnesses. Although a little foot
pain is in no way comparable to cancer or other diseases the miracle children
face, our message is that people care for the children through their illnesses. Each
person is able to Òtranscend its fright at utter nothingness only by moving
towards an active sympathy with the aggregate struggle of mankind.Ó[3] Dance Marathon offers a sense of
community in which one person is helping out another for the betterment of
society.
My enthusiasm for and involvement in Dance Marathon has grown each year following my participation as a Òdancer.Ó My sophomore year I served on the Executive Board as a Special Events co-chair, and now as I enter into my junior year, I am the Co-Overall Chair of Dance Marathon. Along with the excitement I feel for my upcoming leadership role, I am aware of the responsibility and well thought-out planning required to make the organization a huge success. My leadership vision is for Dance Marathon at UT to be the most successful, fun, and rewarding experience it can be for all of those involved. I know that this vision can only be brought to reality through hard work, dedication, and leadership, both by myself as well as the other members of the committee. Three goals that I have for myself and for Dance Marathon 2008 are to be an effective leader who is able to implement change and manage logistics for the well being of the organization, to integrate the participation of miracle families during the day of Dance Marathon, and to raise awareness of the cause and organization on the UT campus as well as the Austin community.
Figure 2:
Members of the Dance Marathon 07 Executive Committee[4]
My first goal is personal to my own growth as a leader: to be able to look at a problem situation objectively, manage my time, and be an effective communicator. I would like to foster an environment of cooperation and eagerness for the entire committee to collectively work and obtain our major goals for Dance Marathon. I believe this quality will come from experience of learning how to expand my perspective and understand the thought-processes of others. It will be necessary for me to adopt the approach that Òno one way of looking at the world is perfect or complete. So rather than seeking some absolute perspective we should yield ourselves to a mobile existence, an existence in which we take up as many Ôlife-attitudes,Õ one by one, as we can.Ó[5] Instead of becoming frustrated when matters get difficult, I should try my hardest to look at another perspective than my own. Maybe a different approach to the problem will yield a better outcome. It is natural to only be focused on your personal train of thought, but through listening and effective communication the group can be well aware of everyoneÕs successes, setbacks, and intended progress.
My second goal for Dance Marathon is to incorporate the kids and families from the hospital into the ÒmarathonÓ as well as our events leading up to the big day. The families from the hospital are an integral part of Dance Marathon. After all, the kids are the reason that we are spending the time, energy, and resources year-round to make this event, and thus the new hospital, a success and worthwhile cause. I envision the presence of the children playing games in the gym and the story-telling of their parents an ever-present motivation to the dancers to keep up their energy for the twelve hours. Watching the kids run, laugh, and play brings a happiness to know that miracles are possible and that these kids are truly grateful for their life. ÒIn them I seemed to draw from a source of inward joy, of sympathetic and imaginative pleasure, which could be shared in by all human beings.Ó[6] During the event, college kids are able to forget about whatever stress may be hovering in the back of their heads. They take on the role of a kid again and just play simply because it is fun and enjoyable.
Figure 3:
Dancers participating in the Morale dance[7]
The miracle kids have so much to
teach us about our own life and are able to make us question the importance we
place on things and whether they are truly significant in the long run. To achieve more integration of the
miracle families, I plan to have children and families at Dance Marathon speak
to the group more than they have in the past. Some of the stories are so emotional that dancers can not
help but cry. Although the serious
aspect of their stories is moving, the constant energy that the kids give off
is contagious to everyone and a constant source of encouragement. The more kids present the better! Whether the kids offer a sentimental
story or a ping-pong partner, they ultimately remind us all of the purpose of
Dance Marathon.
My third goal to make Dance Marathon better known on campus and in Austin is a very important factor for the continued growth of the organization. A major set back that we face right now is that not enough students, faculty, and staff are aware of the cause or participating in it. The more people who are excited about Dance Marathon, the more it will spread on our campus. The past executive committee tabled in the West Mall daily, held fundraisers in front of Gregory Gym, and set up speaker circuits to talk at organizations to reach all people of the University, but still we are experiencing difficulty in getting our message out. Dance Marathon at other Universities is a very big deal; Penn State has raised over $41 million over the past 34 years. Our goal is to eventually get Dance Marathon at the University of Texas to that level. In order to accomplish this goal, we are going to begin our recruitment process much earlier; make an effort to reach out to areas of campus we have previously skipped over; and better use our resources for prizes, promotional items, and incentives to get people to join.
Figure 4:
Dance Marathon recruits other UT groups such as these cheerleaders to
come out on the day of and support our cause[8]
I am going to start working toward achieving this goal starting with you. Now you know about Dance Marathon if you previously did not and have the ability to further awareness to your friends and members of your organizations. Our website, www.utdm.org, has pictures, a calendar, and a list of participating people and can be very useful in getting a better idea of what Dance Marathon is all about. We will start our major recruiting in the fall, so be on the look out!
My ultimate hope
throughout this entire experience is to gain knowledge that will enhance my
leadership skills far after Dance Marathon has passed. I hope to come away with something
valuable, whether that is something I learned about myself, how I learn from
other people, or just plain experience.
ÒThere is something we frequently experience – perhaps we can call
it intuitive awareness – that links us most intimately to the universe
and, in allegiance with the heart, binds us together in generosity and
compassion.Ó[9] As of right now Dance Marathon is what
I am passionate about, but it is inevitable that I will move on from this
organization to my future life full of a family and career. Dance Marathon has taught me many
lessons thus far, but the ones I will carry with me are those about life as a
whole: to be the best member of
society that I can be through my leadership skills and character.
P2B: Word Count (excluding quotes, after deletions): 1,207
P2B: Word Count (excluding quotes, after additions): 1,554
P2C: Word Count (excluding quotes): 1,524