Most students at Penn State have a huge passion for THON. However, Jake Licata’s passion goes way back to before he arrived at Penn State.

Licata, a third-year student representing the business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi, has a history of participating in the fight against childhood cancer. This all started when he participated in Mini-THON when he was in middle school.

After that, he kept on going. At Wissahickon High School, he participated in Mini-THON where he learned more about the importance of the cause. Not only were these experiences the beginning of this passion but when he got to Penn State, he realized how much THON meant to the community of Penn State.

“The atmosphere at Penn State is unmatched compared to anything,” Licata said. “It’s been really inspiring to see that this dancing actually does have a true meaning and true impact on these families.”

Licata has not only made his impact on the floor but also behind the scenes. After starting off as the special events chair at Alpha Kappa Psi, he moved to the role of THON chair during THON 2024. In this role, he was tasked with collaborating with a team of four in planning fundraisers and doing a lot of alumni and corporate outreach. Also, he had to do a lot of work to get the dancers from last year prepared for the weekend.

Last semester, Licata went to study abroad in Spain, and it never occurred to him that there was the possibility that he would be one of the dancers representing Alpha Kappa Psi. Then one morning, he got a phone call from the THON chairs from this year and was shocked to find out.

“It was really cool because it brought me back to being back at Penn State and THON,” Licata said. I hadn’t thought about it a little bit [when I was in Spain], but it just sparked me.”

Now, he has taken the next step in his journey: dancing for 46 hours. Due to having the experience of THON chair, Licata said that he felt no pressure when he was looking forward to dancing, the role put more meaning behind it for him. He called it a surreal moment.

Alpha Kappa Psi has given Licata the opportunity to build special connections with some of the Four Diamond families. The fraternity has two families, the Rodriguez and Switzer families, and they have made sure to make special connections with them. These connections included giving gifts during Christmas, spending time with the kids, and watching the Penn State men’s basketball THON game.

“One of the biggest things about doing THON through my business fraternity is that it’s a tight-knit group of people that really cares about [THON],” Licata said. “Everyone has their own story of why they THON and it’s really great to hear how everyone pushes each other to make the most of the fundraiser.”

Licata wants to leave a lasting impact by participating as a dancer in THON. Not only does he hope that Penn State raises a lot of money to financially support families battling cancer but also fund impactful research. For that reason, he hopes that his participation inspires the fraternity’s families especially Logan.

Alpha Kappa Psi represents one of the kids from each of its two families. Those two kids are Matthew from the Rodriguez family and Logan from the Switzer family. Unfortunately, Logan couldn’t come this weekend, but Licata still has her on his mind as he’s dancing during these 46 hours.

“She got sick this weekend, and so I’m really hoping that she’s watching the livestream or catching a glimpse of us, and I can get a little bit excited,” Licata said.

Licata cares so much about THON and wants to make sure his journey in THON made a difference in people’s lives in the end. For that reason, he sent a message to those people who don’t know anything about THON.

“If you don’t know a lot about [THON], watch some videos on it,” Licata said. “If you’ve never been to THON, come to it and see what it’s all about because it’s a crazy event that you have to be here to feel.”