Name: Bailey Hakala
Major: Applied and Industrial Mathematics & Statistics Minor

Past THON Experience:

THON 2017: Rules & Regulations Committee Member
THON 2018: Dancer Relations Committee Member
THON 2019: Supply Logistics Captain & Independent Dancer

Name an interesting, weird, or quirky fact about yourself:

When I was 4 years old, I gave myself a “haircut” which was so bad that when my mom took me to the hairdresser to fix it, I had to get a bowl cut. This was coincidentally near Halloween that year and I loved Thomas the Tank Engine, which naturally was who I wanted to be for Halloween – so I looked very much like a little boy.

What made you want to apply for the Supply Logistics Director position for THON 2020?

THON is unlike anything of its kind. It is where I have found my home at Penn State. I wanted to apply to be the Supply Logistics director to give this sense of home to other people, like those before have done for me. We give our families a place of hope, love, and compassion. That is what sets THON apart and what has continued to inspire me to give back year after year. I want to give everything in my power to expand and strengthen the impact that we have on the families and to continue our fight against childhood cancer.

What are your responsibilities as the Supply Logistics Director?

As the Supply Logistics director, I lead a committee of 20 dedicated captains who work throughout the year to acquire in-kind donations and manage/distribute supplies from our inventory to ensure that THON has everything needed to function and have successful events. Additionally, I am responsible for overseeing all of THON’s in-kind donations and work with about 20 incredible donors! Our donors range from local companies like ProCopy and Rapid Transit to nationwide companies like Dell and Nike. All of our in-kind donors help THON decrease internal spending by over $100,000 each year! I am also responsible for all of THON’s printing needs throughout the year for things like the Corporate Packet and the THON 2020 Logo Banner.

What do you want to implement in your position this year that’s unique and differs from years past?

For THON 2020, I have been working to ensure that we are increasing THON’s sustainability through using the donations we receive in the most effective way possible and making sure we are more effectively recording data to transition from year to year. Supply Logistics has an incredible opportunity to help THON’s overall sustainability through repurposing and reusing our donated materials. This ensures we are getting the most out of each donation from our incredible donors. Additionally, improved data tracking is a big way for the Supply Logistics committee to become more successful in the future! Working to ensure we have accurate data to give to our successors will help future Supply Logistics committees improve their donation efficiency so that they aren’t constantly contacting people that haven’t historically donated.

What makes the Supply Logistics Committee so cool, fun, and/or important?

The Supply Logistics committee has such a cool role within THON. We work with every other committee to ensure that they have the necessary supplies for events and roles within THON. It is incredible to see the impact we have at each event and have a role in making sure each pre-THON Weekend Event and THON Weekend are as successful as possible. This also helps THON lower its internal costs so that we are giving as much of our funds raised to Four Diamonds at Penn State Children’s Hospital.

What are the overall goals you hope to reach with your committee for THON 2020?

This year I have been working to ensure that we are emphasizing data tracking and permanence in information throughout the year, increasing alumni engagement with in-kind donations, and improving THON’s sustainability efforts.

Why do you THON?

I have always had a very fluid answer for why I THON. It changes with each experience I have had in this organization. But a constant throughout my four years is that I THON for the families I have met along the way and the impact that we have on them. Seeing the families – the kids running around playing – I can see how important what we do is. Beyond the monetary impact we have, we give these families a place of hope, love, and compassion. A place where kids can be kids. A place where parents can, even just briefly, forget to worry. A place where families that have been touched by something so horrid can find support and a sense of normalcy. THON is a home that cancer cannot take away and what has brought me back each year as a student.

What’s your favorite THON memory?

Dancing in THON 2019 was magical in its own way, but experiencing the Final Four while dancing is something that is purely inexplicable. Having been awake and standing for so long, you start to become aware of your fatigue. The Final Four is particularly powerful during this time; it really puts it all into perspective. It comes with the realization that the pain I was feeling was absolutely nothing close to what the kids and the families endure both physically and emotionally. Standing there, being reminded that what I was doing was entirely for them made all of the fatigue seem so small compared to what we all do. It was one of the most incredible feelings I have ever experienced.

Per Onward State tradition, if you could be any dinosaur, which one would you be and why?

I asked my nephew what he thought and he told me I would be an alligator since they have been around since the prehistoric times (I guess he thinks I am old).