Chelsea Trynz may seem like your typical college student, but she is far from that. For all four years of high school, she voluntarily guided and counseled special needs children. In college, she acted as a part-time nanny for a young boy with Autism. And now, after four years of participating and being on the Executive board, Cheslea has earned her way as the university’s Knight-Thon Student Director.
What is your major/year?
Senior majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders
Where are you from?
West Palm Beach
What is Knight-Thon?
Knight-Thon is UCF’s Dance Marathon benefitting Greater Orlando Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Knight-Thon is a year-round fundraiser, uniting over 1,000 UCF Knights around one cause, to raise funds and awareness for the kids in Arnold Palmer Hospital, Winnie Palmer Hospital, and Shands Children’s Hospital. On April 5th, 2014, we will stand together for 20 hours without sitting down, to represent the daily struggle these children face in the hospital every day. Our mantra is “For The Kids”; every dollar we raise, every dance move we make, and every step we take towards our goal is “FTK”! Last year, Knight-Thon hit a record high fundraising increase across the nation, raising over a quarter of a million dollars, and we proved that we truly are “Potentially Limitless”; this year, Knight-Thon has set a goal to raise $365,000 and a theme of “Our Time is Now” to represent that this cause effects the lives of these kids’, every single day.
How do students get involved?
Students can get involved with Knight-Thon in a number of different ways. First and foremost, if you are a part of a Greek organization or RSO, you can join their team as a dancer, or start a team if they do not yet have a team of their own. Secondly, you can join the Morale Team, which is Knight-Thon’s hype/street team, made up of the most outgoing, wild and crazy FTK students at UCF! These students learn what we call the Morale Dance, which they teach to all our dancers and perform every hour at the top of the hour on the day of Knight-Thon. (Unfortunately, this team has already been chosen for the 2014 year, but look out for applications next year!) Lastly, anyone with a passion for kids or KT can join the Volunteer Team or Fundraising Committee. More information about KT and how to get involved is on our website at www.knight-thon.com.
How did you first get involved?
I first got involved with Knight-Thon as a freshman, when I joined the Morale Team. I was a LEAD Scholar looking to get involved with something more. I saw the application, looking for outgoing and passionate students who like to dance and like kids: That’s me! So I applied, and got on the team. I spent the year at practices quickly falling in love with the cause and the people who are so passionate about it. Then, at my first event, I walked on stage to perform the Morale Dance for the first time, and realized it was love at first sight. The next year I applied for the Executive Board, and was given the position of Recruitment Chair, then junior year was the Catering Director, and am now lucky enough to serve as the Student Director.
When did you realize that Knight Thon was your passion?
I first realized that Knight-Thon was my passion at my second KT event, when we revealed our total of how much we raised that year. At the end of Knight-Thon, after standing for what feels like eternity, we reveal how much we raised that year to end the night and finish the year with a bang. The total is a complete surprise to all the Exec Board members, so we had no idea if we made it or not to our goal. Hand in hand, we stood on stage, and even before we revealed the total, all the students who put so much time and energy into these kids and this cause were staring back at us with tears in their eyes because of how excited they were to see if we made it! I knew at that moment, this is a movement that would change my life forever.
How can people donate?
People can donate to their friends DonorDrive accounts (our online fundraising tool), visiting our website, or simply emptying the change in your wallet every time you see one of our yellow buckets around campus. Every dollar makes a difference, so never think that what you have to give isn’t good enough!