#FTK

Two days ago, at 7:00pm, JMU had it's first ever Dance Marathon. My sorority, Phi Mu, and Delta Upsilon Fraternity co-planned and -hosted the event. It took three months of dedication from eight of us to bring the event together. But we pulled it off and not to mention, broke records...if for nothing else, it was ALL for the kids.

I could not have asked for a better team to work with. The passion behind everyone's motivations were there every minute of every day. The support from our chapter came through and it pushed us to strive even harder into making this into one of the biggest events JMU has seen. At 7:00am on Sunday, March 30, we announced to the students that stayed the entire 12 hours, the total fundraised... which was a record-breaking amount for first dance marathon fundraising in the Northeast region of $62,796.70. An amount I'll never be able to forget. Although, since then, we have raised more as donations on our site won't close until April 1 (tomorrow, cough cough)! I am so honored I got to be a part of hosting such a great event. All donations received, aka the amount mentioned above, will go directly to UVA's Children Hospital in Charlottesville, VA.

We danced 12 hours for kids who can't. We saved lives.

To all the students who stayed throughout the entire event, my special thanks go out to you, as we could not have done it without you. And to all my lovely sisters and the brothers from DU, you all ought to be truly proud of yourselves, you made all of MadiTHON Exec proud and we are all so grateful to be a part of such great organizations.

So here's to an end of our first ever DM, and to the start of next year's - and raising double (maybe triple?!) that amount for the kids at UVA's Children Hospital.

Miracles happen to those who believe.
Keep on dancin'

xx

The wonderful exec team that I had the pleasure of working with

 

Our final amount - #ftk

March 24, 2014

The title reflects the past month of my life pretty accurately. I have been running around nonstop trying to find time to breathe, but I can't... and it has never been so personally rewarding.

The end of February the benchmark for our business plan was due. I won't go in to detail in this area, because the end result was not rewarding, but more of a slap in the face. More work and effort should have been put into it, and I'll leave it at that.

Over spring break, I went on a Experiential Learning Tour through the College of Business. I met with great JMU alumni, who have been more than helpful. Networking was the main idea of the trip, and I can proudly say I have expanded my network with so many intelligent and generous business men and women. The trip was right up in DC and I was able to stay up there with 25 other students who were accepted into the program. Not only was I able to form alumni relationships, but also student relationships that I hope will continue now that the trip is over. Needless to say, I had a great experience and would recommend the program to anyone. One piece of advice in regards to this, is to take advantage of the programs your school has to offer and do it with confidence - you're only limit is yourself.

And speaking of limits, which are relatively comparable to goals, we have exceeded our MadiTHON goal! I am so proud of the dedication of my sisters in Phi Mu and the overall JMU student body. We have been able to raise so much money for this event that we can donate to our local Children's Miracle Network Hospital in Charlottesville, VA. The dance marathon is this Saturday and I am so excited! I'll update you all later on how it goes (:

I have been thinking a lot about what I want to do after I graduate. And as of now, I really want to go into the HR and Recruiting field. It's something that has always been an idea, but it became serious after the DC trip. As far as that goes, I can fully concentrate in HR Management if I stay an extra semester, but if not I can still take the majority of the HR concentration courses anyways. But here I am debating if I should just stay an extra year and pick up a minor in CIS. So, here I am reaching another big decision in my life and trying to figure out what will be worth it in the long run. Wish me luck on this hopefully short journey I take in figuring out exactly what it is I want to do - I'm excited to see what happens!

And finally, I am really working on myself to become a better person. I am trying to keep positive about most things that I have control over. It's those things that I can't control that keep getting in the way. But I'm giving it my all for various reasons that have touched my heart in many ways over the past month.

I'm working 

on myself

for myself

by myself

xx