Committee Member Spotlight: Courtney Scheffler

Courtney Scheffler:

When and how did you hear about Dance Marathon?

I first heard about Dance Marathon from other college students at other schools when I attended Morningside College my freshman year, but Morningside didn’t have Dance Marathon, so when I came to UNI and heard about the information meeting for Dance Marathon at the beginning of the year, I was really excited to find out more about the organization.

What is your role in the organization now?

I am currently on the Development Committee. For the first few months of the school year, I spent my time emailing and calling schools to try to get them involved in UNI DM by hosting a Mini Marathon of their own at their school. Now I get to attend all of their events and dance with some of the coolest kids in the state of Iowa! There’s nothing better than seeing high school, middle school, and elementary school kids dancing FTK!

What is the best part about being involved in Dance Marathon?

The best part of being in Dance Marathon is getting to know some of the greatest people, whether it’s other committee members, dancers, and the best part: our miracle kiddos and their families!

Why are you a part of Dance Marathon?

I am a part of Dance Marathon because I believe there is nothing more important than giving back. I had a very healthy childhood, and as a child I was unaware of the fact that children my own age were spending most of their time in hospitals. Now that I am aware of these children, and as a future teacher, I love to spend even the small amount of free time that I have working toward raising money for these kids, attending and planning events to bring awareness to this organization, and anything else I can do to change some kids lives.

Why should other people be involved in Dance Marathon and attend this year’s event?

Dance Marathon is the greatest organization I have ever been a part of. It is amazing to see so many college kids working together and fighting for the next generation. Dance Marathon has changed my life and made me a more selfless, caring, and giving person. I think everyone should join Dance Marathon to change their lives in a positive way and help the next generation so they can go to college just like us. (There are also lots of super sweet dance parties involved, and who doesn’t love that?)

What is your favorite Dance Marathon memory so far?

My favorite memories so far are absolutely attending the Mini Dance Marathons and seeing the families of our miracle kiddos speaking to the elementary/middle/high schoolers. This lets the students really connect to the organization and see why a sea of weird people dressed in orange are invading their school dance.

Funny memory: We played Year 3000 by the Jonas Brothers at a middle school dance and all of the DM members went crazy, but the middle schoolers didn’t even know the song because it came out in 2002, when they were just barely babies/before they were born. This made all of us realize how old we really are.