MONT ALTO, PA - It's back to school Monday for Penn State students, but the dancing continues at the Mont Alto campus.
"I danced for 46 hours to end pediatric cancer."
Over the weekend, about 60 students from Mont Alto were at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center for the Dance Marathon.
"We raised over $12 million and everybody just went nuts and the whole place went nuts and I was right there in the front row to experience it," says Mont Alto's THON Dancer, Zeb Thorson. "It was amazing."
It's called THON for short and is considered the largest student run philanthropy in the world raising millions of dollars each year.
"It's for the kids, FTK, that's the whole reason we do everything we do," says Thorson. "It's just to help the kids out so that one day they won't have to worry about cancer or anything like that. So that one day we'll have a cure and we'll dance for fun and celebration instead of dancing for the cure."
Penn State Mont Alto students raised money all year to add to the grand total for THON, and it paid off because they raised more than $30,000
"Everyone's in different organizations and fraternities and sororities, but when it all comes down to the reveal everyone's just so excited for each other and it makes me proud to be a Penn State student," says Nick Rouse, Mont Alto THON Morale Captain.
Students say the 46-hours of constant dancing can get emotional.
"I lost my grandmother this year to cancer," says Thorson. "I made so many friends who lost family members to cancer and just getting to know our family more, our THON family, has made me want to dance."
Students says it's a dance worth conquering to find a cure.THON also broke its $100 million mark this year, a goal they had since they first began in 1977.
All funds raised go to the Four Diamonds Fund.
