Dancing in THON has a special meaning to every THON dancer, but to Gabriella Heidorn, it means more. For her, it’s the culmination of a personal journey that began when she was 13 years old.

At the age of 13, Heidorn was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer called NUT Carcinoma, which affected her left submandibular salivary gland.

To fight the cancer, Heidorn went through nine months of intensive chemotherapy and radiation treatments. She never gave up and said she wanted to stand for kids going through the same thing she did.

Heidorn, a third-year student representing the sorority, Sigma Sigma Sigma, is also dancing with a lot on her mind, including her THON family, the Abrams family.

“I’m dancing for our THON children. Kionne and Isabelle are incredibly strong kids and have been through so much at their young age,” Heidorn said. “I’m THONing for myself and for my friend who had the same cancer as me and passed away in January 2020.”

THON has changed Heidorn in so many ways. She was able to get super close with the Abrams family as her THON Family Relations Chair in her sorority. She is thankful to have gotten the opportunity to see Kionne, who is 14 years old, grow from her freshman year to today.

However, Heidorn never had college in her mind. All she was focused on was winning her battle against cancer. Born in Missouri, she never had any sort of connection to Penn State. That all changed after watching a TikTok about THON.

“I looked it up, researched a little bit more, and I was immediately set to tears,” Heidorn said. “We immediately committed right after because my parents knew that [THON] was something that I would not be able to find anywhere else. It’s incredibly personal because I did go through chemotherapy treatments, and I’ve had many friends and family affected, not just me, but their own personal stories with cancer.”

Heidorn said she was looking forward to sharing her story during Greek Hour, and today, she accomplished it, as she shared her childhood cancer journey in front of a large Bryce Jordan Center crowd. She wasn’t done as she participated in the hair donation event, where she donated some of her hair to kids who are suffering from hair loss.

Heidorn has gone through so much in her life to get to this point . When she found out that she was dancing in THON 2026, she was “incredibly elated” to have been chosen to represent Tri-Sigma. She has been preparing for this for a long time to make sure that she finishes a resilient, long journey that started with her fighting for her life to leaving an unforgettable impact on those who are going through the same thing she did.

When the clock strikes 4 p.m. on Sunday, February 22, Heidorn will complete her resilient story, accomplishing something she didn’t know she would ever get the chance to do.

“I didn’t know if I’d make it past 13 [years old], I never had a dream college because I never thought I’d make it that far,” Heidorn said. “The fact that I can stand for kids like me and stand for 46 hours, it’s something I never thought I’d be able to do, and I will be so proud of myself.”