February Dancer of the Month
The final Dancer of the Month for this year goes to Angela Wendt! Angela is a sophomore Finance Major here at UNI and has been participating in UNI Dance Marathon for the past 2 years. This year, Angela has been heavily involved in the Media Committee. She was nominated by the Assistant Director of Marketing, Bailey Caskey: “Angela is always willing to give a helping hand. She is motivated to fundraise and is really connected to our cause. She is constantly stepping up into leadership roles and we are grateful to have her on our team.”
Angela’s DM journey is comprised of moments and lessons she has shared and learned from her boyfriend, Colton, who is a survivor of childhood Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Last year at their first Big Event together, they had a particularly memorable moment: “Colton and I made friends with a young girl who was there. We danced, played games, and hung out with her for a couple hours. We didn’t exactly know why she was at the Big Event at the time. Later, when we got to the last kiddo story of the night, that girl happened to get on stage with her family to tell the story of her brother Jackson, one of our miracle kiddos who is now dancing in our hearts. I would have never guessed this after seeing how much fun she was having with us. It was one of the hardest times I have cried.”
Sadly, more tears were to come, exactly one month and a day after the Big Event, Angela's boyfriend, Colton, was diagnosed with Papillary Thyroid Cancer. The road has been long, and tough for them but we are all happy to hear that Colton is rocking through his treatments!
Through all of this, Angie still keeps fighting on for the next generation. One of the reason’s her original goal was set at $1,000 is because of the little, yet important things Colton has taught her about what children going through chemotherapy are in need of. “Well, $1,000 pays for 100 oral care kits. I know especially how important it is for these kiddos to keep their teeth in good care with the right kind of toothpaste and other oral items. It’s one of many things people don’t often know how much it will affect kids, especially those going through chemotherapy, in the long run.” Her new goal is to raise $1,700 for the 170 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
Going into the final hours of UNI Dance Marathon 8, Angela has this word of advice for her fellow dancers: “contact all immediate family first through text messaging or instant messaging. Then after immediate family, try to contact people individually and not just through social media posts. Individually reaching out will help someone feel and see the impact that they are making.” Her goals for this year’s Big Event are to have as much fun as she can with the kiddos and rock out to Jazzercise!
Can’t wait to see you light up the Dance floor Angela! Thanks for letting us #ShareYourStory
