Posted on 02/19/2010 9:17:34 PM PST by FlJoePa
Thon volunteer driven to give back
Gail Franklin- For the CDT
As a volunteer for Thon, which has raised millions to aid families fighting pediatric cancer, Penn State student Katie Austin has never questioned stepping outside of her comfort zone.
Penn State student Katie Austin is a former Four Diamonds child and has volunteered for several years as a student with THON.
•At 13, she began to speak publicly at events and fundraisers about her own battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
•She organized the first mini-Thon at her high school in Lancaster.
•Last year, as overall family relations chairwoman for the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, she got to know dozens of families, and attended a funeral for a Thon child lost to cancer.
Now in her final year at Penn State, Austin is doing something new to support the cause.
She was chosen for the first time to be one of 700 dancers at the event that begins Friday at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Austin became a Four Diamonds child when she was diagnosed with leukemia at 12 and underwent more than two years of treatment.
“While it was one of the biggest challenges I’ll ever face, I’m not alone in that and I’m sitting here today,” said the 22-year-old biobehavioral health major. “It’s reassuring to know that and important to let families know that they’re not alone in going through this fight.”
From being a sickly preteen to becoming an adult who has volunteered countless hours to support families battling cancer in Pennsylvania, she said she has learned how to be a leader and appreciate life.
The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State’s Children’s Hospital at Hershey helped her family financially and emotionally when she was diagnosed, and this will be her 11th Penn State Thon event.
She knew she would attend Penn State after her first Thon experience, which she said was a defining moment in her life.
“That’s when I realized the impact of what was happening to me and what people were doing to help,” she said.
Motivated to give back, she has volunteered to raise money and work with Four Diamonds families all four years at Penn State. She worked as a family relations captain for two years, as a family relations overall chairwoman and this year as the co-chairwoman of family relations for an independent student group that has been matched with two families.
Austin has helped organize trips to Hershey, bowling outings and other social events to show those two families support throughout the year. She knows personally how important those times with caring Penn State students can be for a child.
“I like to tell the other volunteers that while they’re inspired by the kids, the kids are just as inspired by them,” Austin said. “I’m working with people I once looked up to as role models.”
To finish out her Thon years by dancing for 46 hours without sleep will prove she has come full circle.
“It’s a huge honor for me to be dancing,” she said. “I”m not only doing it to represent all the families that continue to go through cancer but as a thank you to the students who have done so much for families and to raise money.”
Watch this and other great videos on youtube:
"The Four Diamonds Fund was established by Charles and Irma Millard, after the death of their son, Christopher, who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 11. The Fund is named after a story that Chris wrote shortly before he lost his battle with cancer at the age of 14. In Chris’ story, a knight must find the four diamonds of Courage, Wisdom, Honesty and Strength in order to be released from captivity by an evil sorceress. The four diamonds are symbolic of the traits Chris believed were necessary to overcome cancer."
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