For most dancers and volunteers, THON, a yearlong fundraising and 46-hour dance marathon, begins in college. For Penn State junior Ian Savitski, it started in childhood.
Savitski, an integrative science major, grew up steps from campus and the traditions that define the university.
“I grew up about a 15-minute walk from Beaver Stadium, so it was hard not to fall in love with Penn State from a young age,” Savitski said. “My parents were Penn Staters, so that definitely contributed.”
Born and raised in State College, Savitski attended THON as a child long before he fully could grasp its scale or mission. An early connection shaped that experience.
“I kind of grew up coming to THON from a really young age, and not really quite getting the full gravity of it and just kind of knowing what it was,” he said.
Savitski said his ties to the student-run dance marathon began through his former babysitter, whom he refers to as Miss Jenna, who served as a THON director during her time at Penn State.
“She would take me on the floor. Sometimes we would come and visit family or friends involved; it became kind of a yearly thing that we would pay attention to come to every year,” he said. “And so growing up, I got to understand the gravity of what THON means and growing more personal connections to the cause as you get older, as you understand more things, have more life.”
As a student, Savitski deepened his involvement through Alpha Kappa Psi, which supports two THON families and raises funding for the mission annually.
Savitski joined the business fraternity as a freshman and began by attending fundraisers, spending hours in the stands and building relationships with dancers and THON families. As a sophomore, he was selected as one of the fraternity’s four primary THON chairs.
“I got to lead all of our fundraising throughout the year, all of our fun morale, plan our fun weekend, plan events with our families and for our dancers, and I got to see that culminate last year on a really, really successful fun weekend, both in terms of total and just really doing it for the right reasons and making sure everyone has a really great, fun experience.”
The business fraternity hosts a range of fundraisers throughout the year.
Savitski said Alpha Kappa Psi organizes a range of alternative fundraisers throughout the year, with proceeds benefiting THON. He noted some of favorite events from over the years were the organization’s large pasta dinners, goat yoga sessions and workout classes, along with expanded alumni outreach and corporate fundraising efforts in recent years.
Alpha Kappa Psi supports the Matthew Rodriguez family and the Logan Spicer family. In recent years, Savitski has worked closely with both families.
“Last year, Matthew was officially declared five years cancer free, which getting to hear and kind of see that is why we do it. It’s incredible,” he said.
“And this past year, Logan rang the bell too. She was declared cancer free for the first time… I remember seeing videos of her in the hospital last year, when we were in the stands, when our dancers were down to the floor, and to see just how much she’s grown and how much we’ve been able to grow our relationship with their family the past year and just seeing her just become a kid again, it’s been it’s a really, really good reminder of why we do it.”
Now, Savitski is taking to the floor himself as a THON 2026 dancer.
“It’s everything I’ve kind of dreamed of since I was little and a little bit more,” he said. “It’s kind of a rush of emotions. It’s a lot, but it’s really, really awesome…I think everyone has a really good individual reason to do it, but for me, just being around it from a young age, and getting to see it when I was young, and then getting to understand a little bit more and become a little more involved, and then coming as a student, and having that involvement and care increase like, tenfold, and really seeing it all behind the scenes.”
He remembers watching the line dance as a child, a tradition performed hourly during the marathon.
“Learning the line dance is something that I can just remember coming since I was a little kid and seeing everyone do it 46 times, maybe starting to learn it a little bit,” he said. “I think seeing the way that’s evolved from when I came here when I was little and to see what that’s become, and to the scale to which they’ve just turned that up on one other notch, and they made it such a fun, interactive thing that everyone wants to see. I look forward to learning it so much every year.”
Savitski said his lifelong connection to THON shaped how he views his role as a dancer.
“I’m super lucky to have that background coming here since I was little,” he said. “I hope there’s kids like me too who don’t really know what they’re doing yet, but they just know they’re coming here for a great cause. Maybe 20 years later, 15 years later, they’re gonna be looking back on it.”
Dancing this weekend, he said, is not about personal recognition or gain but about continuing a cycle he witnessed as a child.
Savitski said he believes THON’s impact extends beyond those with direct personal connections to pediatric cancer.
“I don’t think anyone needs to have a reason to THON,” he said. “You don’t need to have a super, deeply personal reason to THON to have love and effect. Coming here and just seeing all the smiling faces, seeing the turnout every year, knowing how much of it really goes towards the cause, it’s pretty incredible.”
For the State College native who once stood on the floor as a child, THON 2026 marks a full-circle moment. Satvitski, along with roughly 700 other dancers, will get to sit around 4 p.m. Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center, as the weekend comes to a close with the announcement of the final fundraising total for the year.
