For almost every senior, taking on big opportunities and soaking in every last waking moment on campus before graduation is both vital and rewarding. For actuarial science major Andrew Brown, his last semester is no different, especially when he had the opportunity to dance for his fraternity at THON.

Hailing from Erie, Pennsylvania, Brown joined Pi Kappa Phi early in his Penn State journey and worked his way up into leadership positions correlating with THON and its mission. Although he’s loved every second of it, Brown admits that THON wasn’t necessarily on his radar at first, however, he has personal experiences with witnessing a loved one undergo cancer treatment.

“Being involved with THON is something that I never thought I’d be able to do in college,” Brown said. “My cousin suffered from pediatric cancer when I was young, and that was extremely hard to see him go through all that. I never thought that 15 years later, that’d be something that I would be able to be involved in in college and actually make a direct impact on.”

Ever since his first year on campus, Brown knew he found two places he’d called home for the past four years: his fraternity and THON. Playing a big role in both has driven him to success over the course of his college career while reminding him what THON’s mission truly means.

“When I came here my freshman year, I only heard of THON a little bit. I never knew what it fully was,” Brown shared. “As soon as I had the opportunity to get involved and come to THON Weekend, it was one of the greatest things I’ve experienced in my entire life. Seeing all these families, all these kids, the mission, all these testaments to what this money can do, what the funding and research can do and how this aid can help these families, really drove this and made it my passion to really help out.”

Once Brown got the news he was dancing this year, he knew he couldn’t pass up something he would hold near and dear to his heart, even well past college. Almost everything Brown has accomplished led him to save his “last dance” for THON Weekend.

“I’m super excited now and blessed for this opportunity to dance my senior year,” Brown said. “There’s nothing I would rather do my senior year than be [at THON] Weekend.”

For the past two years, Brown took on an executive role in his fraternity, allowing him to not only network but to connect and uplift his brothers and their fundraising efforts. In the role, he has broken barriers within his fraternity by coming up with new ways for members to engage with alumni while raising money, too.

“Last year, and this year as well, I was a donor alumni relations chair,” Brown said. “What I really focused on was our communication with alumni and some of our donors, and making our members really push out their donations and using different initiatives to help them pursue their fundraising goals… I created some new incentives for a lot of our members that donate, including one-on-one alumni networking calls. We talked to them, and we’re actually able to fundraise a lot that way. It was really fun to use the creativity that I’ve been gifted with to try to help fundraise a lot of money.”

Brown views THON as an experience much bigger than himself. Although dancing comes with its anxieties, Brown went into the weekend with an open and compassionate mindset.

“When a whole year’s worth of effort culminates in the one weekend, it’s a little bit scary,” Brown shared. “I was really nervous until we took the stand, and then all that nervousness kind of went away. It’s just crazy that this is just like the grand finale doing all year. It’s the best grand finale you could ever have.”

During THON Weekend, as well as throughout the year, his fraternity partnered with Alpha Delta Pi to raise awareness and funding. The group’s theme this year was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, picked by its THON family.

Brown looked most forward to seeing his THON child, Connor Rowan, take the stage during the annual Kids’ Talent Show. Rowan sang “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman,” with several brothers of Pi Kappa Phi, including Brown, singing and swaying in the background, leading the crowd to wave its phone flashlights side to side.

Rowan is an 8th grader at Red Lion middle school in York, Pennsylvania and has been in remission for 12 years now. However, he still wears a huge smile on his face every time he sees and spends time with the brothers of Pi Kappa Phi.

“Connor is just an amazing kid, and we love being around Connor because he has all that teenage boy humor and sense of joy that I feel like myself and a lot of our other members have,” Brown shared. “So being with Connor is an amazing fit… It’s so nice to have a face to what we’re doing and be able to interact with them.”

Stories like Rowan’s are why Brown decided to dance — for Connor, for the kids and families, for his cousin, and for a brighter future.

“What’s really been my rock [THON] Weekend is just kind of thinking about all the angel children and different posters in the hallway, thinking about my cousin, who was fortunate enough to make it out of pediatric cancer, his leukemia,” Brown said. “Just seeing all these families as well as just seeing all these children running around and being so happy, and hearing from our family, the Rowans, and every family and just how grateful they are is just so inspirational and keeps me fighting through any of these minor inconveniences I feel compared to childhood cancer.”

Rowan thanked THON for having the opportunity to dance this year and for contributing to an unforgettable time at Penn State. Although all the typical college activities are fun for him, nothing beats the way THON makes him feel.

“I would definitely say that getting involved with THON is probably one of the best things you can ever do,” Brown said. “I feel like a lot of times, freshmen might overlook that compared to other clubs and different opportunities, but there’s no more rewarding experience that you can have at Penn State. It truly is like no greater joy. You’re not going to find that at any football game, you’re not going to find that at any party, you’re not going to find that any academic success. It’s really just something that is in a complete world of its own.”

With only three months until he graduates, Brown is looking forward to the next chapter of his life and attending future THON Weekends while supporting its mission and community.

“I’m actually pretty excited to graduate,” Brown said. “This is one of the last things on my senior bucket list. Once THON Weekend is over, it’s just kind of a home stretch from there. I don’t think my involvement with THON will ever end. I’m very excited to be an active alumni and to just help my org in the future with fundraising and helping them connect… I’m definitely gonna miss THON. I’m definitely gonna miss Penn State.”