Those who know me know that two of the most important people in my life are my little brother, Matías (10), and my older sister, Talia (22). They are my two Whys when it comes to Terp Thon. Starting with Mati, when he was little, he spent a lot of time in the hospital. Visiting him in the hospital, I would see many other kids having to spend lots of time getting treated and I always wanted to do something to help, but I could never think of anything. A couple of years later, my sister Talia was able to help me figure out how I could help. In her time at the University of Florida, she was extremely involved with their Dance Marathon, and she would constantly explain to me how life-changing her experience was and how great of an effect it had on her life. Hearing her stories and seeing the pictures and videos of her experiences helped me figure out how I could finally help the kids.
Getting involved in Dance Marathon in college, at whatever college I wound up at, would be how I could help. After being a dancer during my freshman year for Terp Thon, I decided that I wanted to get more involved and play a larger role, so I joined the Public Relations Committee this year. Being on Planning Team allows me to have an increased role, see more of what my efforts are going towards, and make a greater impact. Terp Thon has really changed my perspective on life and given me some of the greatest smiles that I have had in my life. Since joining Terp Thon, I’ve been able to have more opportunities to make people smile, which is one of the things that I enjoy most in life, and I’ve also been able to smile more myself. For everything that Terp Thon has given me and will continue to give me in the future, I am forever grateful.