This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCLA chapter.
UCLA’s Dance Marathon is considered one of the largest student run philanthropic events on the West coast and continues to be the highlight of thousands of UCLA student’s college experience. In honor of Dance Marathon just around the corner this week’s Campus Celebrity is one of the students who makes this event possible, Royce Nitta. Royce Nitta is a fourth year Sociology and Gender Studies student and has been working very hard throughout the year to put on this iconic event. If you haven’t already, sign up to be a dancer or moraler!
Why did you want to be a part of PAC?
There is a multitude of reasons that I wanted to join the Pediatric AIDS Coalition, but a few of the most important reasons being my extreme passion for the cause and to give back to the organization, school, and community at large. Although I have always felt passionate about the issue of AIDS and the search for its cure, my drive to become more involved on this issue started last fall. I was fortunate enough to meet a student, Gabriella Reena who is living with AIDS. Meeting her and fostering a strong friendship with her opened my eyes to the issues of this epidemic, as well as showed me the incredible strength and value those living with AIDS have. She inspired me to make the most of my time and life, but to also give back—leading me to want to participate in the Pediatric AIDS Coalition. This desire began with wanting to fight and advocate for her survival, but has grown into a desire to do this for all others as well. In my mind, these people are not statistics, but have unique lives and stories; stories I will never forget, and because of them, I cannot be a passive supporter on an issue that shouldn’t be just their own, but all of ours. In addition to this, my desire to join the Pediatric AIDS Coalition is my wish to be useful. This is my last year here as a student and I have been extremely fortunate to have such an incredible experience. Therefore, before I leave I hope to give back what was given to me, and then some.
What is your position and what does it entail?
My position in PAC is Operations and Logistics coordinator, in which my team and myself work all year to create a master schedule and timeline for the event. This includes creating a shifts schedule that delegates jobs and tasks to all committee members for the duration of the event, ensuring that dancers, moralers, and volunteers are accounted for, and overall, running the entire operations of the event (Aka we are the team with the fancy headsets running around like mad.) Furthermore, we deal with any issues that arise during the event and serve as the problem solvers—fire, medical emergency, riot, fight, etc. Anything that comes our way, we are there to solve it.
What has been your favorite memory in PAC?
I have a ton of fond memories of PAC, but my favorite I would say is yet to come! This being my last year as a student at UCLA, this is a really special Dance Marathon for me. One, because it is my first time serving in PAC, but also because I know that this year we have raised the bar and have planned a Dance Marathon that is going to be a game changer! But if I need to choose a moment, up until now, it would be number reveal. Basically, for an entire week in winter quarter we have this huge push to register dancers and at the end of the week, the board reveals how many we have registered. This year in just a week, we registered roughly around 1,300 dancers. That to me is 1,300 more chances for children and families suffering from HIV/AIDS to have a cure discovered. That is a something I will never forget, because I know that the work and effort that went into that week is making a difference.
If someone were on the fence about registering for Dance Marathon last minute, what advice would you give him or her?
To a person who is on the fence, I know that 26 hours on your feet seems impossible, but every year, thousands of students do it and survive—guess what, they feel amazing after! Not just because they have accomplished something they have never done before, but because participating in Dance Marathon creates actual change, it makes a difference in the world. I know that it is easy to feel like one person cannot change the many horrors of the world, but this DOES. The money raised goes directly to the research and people across the globe. For every hour you stand, the more hope you give to those who are suffering with HIV/AIDS. But maybe its not motivation, maybe it’s the fundraising? Well if that is the case, just try, try your hardest to raise that money, because it really isn’t as big of a number as it seems. $260.00 spread out over 26 hours is $10.00 an hour. Ask 26 people (especially family/adults) to sponsor you for 1 hour; chances are they will see how much dedication you have to this cause and the event and will gladly donate more than $10.00. Personally, each committee member is obligated to raise $500.00. That was a big number for me, but I reached out to my friends and I raised it all simply by asking. People want to help, and people want to help even more when someone they know and love is asking for it—so give it a try! Finally, I want to say that one of the best life advices I was ever told is that “ 80% of life is doing, the other 20% is wishing you had.” This to say that if you are nervous, that’s okay, but if you didn’t do things that made you nervous, would you be at UCLA? No, one of the reasons you are here because you are a aren’t afraid to take risks or venture into the unknown—that is a quality many people spend their entire lives trying to acquire. So do Dance Marathon because its amazing, do it for the cause, do it for yourself, but most importantly, do it because as a UCLA student it is our responsibility to be the leaders and do-ers of the world, not the spectators, so get your dancing shoes on!
What are you most excited about for Dance Marathon weekend?
I am most excited to see it all come together! For the entire year PAC has been working to ensure that this is the best Dance Marathon anyone has ever seen; and I think we will accomplish that! Furthermore, I am excited to see how much money we have raised at the end of the event. Year after year we have broken records of funds raised and this year I know that we can do it again, because when you look at those numbers at the end of the event when they reveal how much was raised, I see children, mothers, fathers, sisters, etc. all given a chance to live a life we are fortunate enough to live. I see the hard work and dedication UCLA students have, and I see a change being made in the world. That is an indescribable feeling, and I can’t wait to experience that again!